


Of Heaven and Hell

by liberty_rose



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: AU, Angels, Demons, F/M, Fantasy, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-08-30
Updated: 2015-03-29
Packaged: 2017-12-25 01:53:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 20
Words: 30,802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/947220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liberty_rose/pseuds/liberty_rose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The child of an Incubus never survives for long. For some reason or another, their lives are always cut short. So when Joel’s child reaches the golden age of 21, the highest Demon’s send him and Gavin, a sorry excuse for a Demon if there ever was one, on a mission to retrieve the boy. Along the way they find themselves in the company of Michael and Ray, an Angel and a Fallen. The ragtag group embarks on a dangerous journey, though no one knows if the real danger is the monsters they’ll face along the way or each other.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Whatever you know about angels and demons, throw it away now. I do a lot of research when writing, but for this AU i'm altering the information I find for my purposes.

*Demons*

Gavin waited nervously in The Courtroom, the Elders staring down at him from their raised pedestals. He had no idea why he had been called to stand before the highest Demon’s; he couldn’t recall doing anything bad lately. Well, nothing to warrant this kind of attention. He wanted desperately to look up, but as a lower Demon, looking directly at the Elders would be cause for execution. Instead, he watched his fingers as he flexed them; the distraction didn’t work very well.  
He glanced to his left, careful to keep his face angled towards the ground. Beside him stood a tall demon, shoulders hunched and head down. This was who the Elders were currently addressing.

"Incubus." One of the Elders spoke; they never used actual names, only Demonic classifications. "It has been brought to our attention that one of your Cambion has come of age." Gavin saw the other Demon’s hands clench into tight fists at his side. "As you know, most spawn of Incubi die before reaching their 21st year, so this is a rare occurrence. We have decided that you should retrieve the Cambion so that we may asses its worth."

Gavin’s eye brows knit together; they were talking about a human being like it was an insect. To the Elders, it might as well have been. Humans were not valued by the higher status Demons.

"You will be taking the Ephiatles with you on your journey." He knew they were now referring to him. Ephiatles were often sent out on missions due to their ability to cleanly dispatch enemies by simply putting them to sleep and filling their heads with nightmares.

Gavin sunk his teeth into his lower lip to keep himself from talking. He had never been sent out before, mostly because he was considered a failure. He was one of the few Ephiatles who was also a Harbinger; meaning he could project nightmares of things to come. It should have been a useful talent, but he couldn’t control it. He would put vivid and horrific scenes into others heads without meaning to. The knowledge of what was to come, or just the sights themselves, would drive people mad.

"You are to leave immediately. Gather what you need and then set off." The words were final and dismissing.

Gavin and the other Demon walked silently from the courtroom, the large doors closing behind them with an echoing thud. He finally raised his head to look at the man he would be traveling with.

He was tall, extremely so, and well built. His hair was dark and messy, his eyes were shadowed. From the top of his head smooth horns protruded, curling back. There was a black lattice work of markings working down from his jaw line and disappearing beneath his shirt. He was, like most Incubi, handsome and created specifically to draw people in.

Gavin found that he had begun comparing himself the the Incubus. His own shaggy, dark blonde hair was normal, his blue eyes were nice but they were nothing special. His nose was too big and he was too lanky. His only defining marks were the pale blue spirals covering his arms and hands from shoulders to finger tips.

"Alright, Eph, go get your shit together and meet me at the door." The Incubus said, turning to walk away.

"Gavin." He couldn’t help but correct.

"What?" The Incubus swung around and stared him down.

"My name is Gavin. Not Ephiatles or Eph. Just Gavin." 

The Incubus glared, his face clearly conveying just how little he cared about proper titles; at last, he sighed out an response. “Joel.”

Gavin flashed a smile at Joel’s retreating form before heading home to pack his belongings. It didn’t take as long as he had thought it would; he ended up just stuffing his clothes and various other things into a back pack. He made sure his dagger was strapped to his belt. Sure, he could incapacitate almost anyone without any problem, but it was nice to have a back-up plan.

When he arrived at the door (which was the entrance to the Demon Camp), Joel was already there, laden down by multiple bags and a large sheathed sword. As soon as Gavin stopped in front of him, Joel unloaded several bags onto him without hesitation. It took a moment of shifting things around before they were ready to leave. Gavin ended up with his own bag and two of Joel’s strapped to his back with buckles.

"Ready?" Joel asked, but he was already brushing past the guards without waiting for an answer.

Gavin just trotted along behind him. It was only then that it really began to sink in. He was about to embark on a dangerous quest to retrieve a strangers child. He should have felt honored to have been chosen, but he couldn’t help but feel like there had to be someone better than him. He wasn’t particularly strong or talented, he was just an average lower Demon. He had never done anything remarkable or anything to show that he was capable of handling the mission that he was being sent on. He wasn’t ready for this kind of adventure and the risks it presented. He could die along the way, or suffer some horrific injury that rendered him completely useless.

The usually happy Demon felt utterly miserable as the idea struck him; he might actually die. He faltered momentarily, trying to come to terms with it, but he had only stopped for a second before Joel’s voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Hurry up! I want to make it to the next valley before the sun goes down." 

 

*Angels*

Angels are creatures that rarely suffer heart break; or at least they should be. They aren’t meant to form sentimental attachments to anything or anyone. They are supposed to be content with what they were given at creation. Most Angels have fooled themselves into thinking that a loveless life is a good thing.

When Angels were created, they were given physical bodies that would never change, never show any signs of aging. That is a big drawback. Looking at the same people every day for how ever long your forever lasts. Then, on top of the no change thing, they were also forbidden to do what made life worth living. No loving unless it was for the being you were destined to spend eternity with. Michael, for one, believed all of it to be absolute bullshit.

The reason he knew it was bullshit was due to the fact that he had seen someone fall in love. He had seen how love can change someone and make them unbelievably happy. But because of that love, he had seen someone thrown from their home; abandoned and left to fend for themselves. He had seen his friend cast out.That was why he himself was standing at the wrought iron gates to the compound.

"You know if you leave now you can’t come back, right?" The gate keeper said, blocking the exit.

"Yeah, yeah. I got it." Michael rolled his eyes and pushed his way past the man and out gate.

He didn’t have to think hard about leaving; by that point, he had been turning over the idea for months. Since his best friend was pushed from the compound, he had been thinking about the pros and cons of staying. The cons far outweighed the pros. There was no one left who he could stand long enough to really associate with. They were all devoted and followed every rule. That was no fun, so Michael had made up his mind; he was leaving

He brought with him only the clothes and supplies he could carry in his messenger bag and a gleaming blade which tapered to a razor sharp point. He headed directly towards Mare Vitreum, the lake at the edge of the forest. He waited for a while at the waters edge, staring down at his reflection.

He brushed his coppery curls off his forehead and out of his brown eyes. The sun was beginning to slip beneath the horizon line, the air cooling. Instinctively, his large, ginger wings folded themselves against his body in an attempt to keep him warm. The first stars were starting to wink into existence when a rustling sound arose from the nearby trees. Michael turned his head in the direction of the noise just in time to see a man walk from the concealing shadows.

"You’re late." Michael reprimanded as he got to his feet and brushed the dirt from his pants.

"Sorry," the man apologized, offering a smile. "I kind of got lost."

"Figures." Michael pulled his friend into a brief hug. "It’s good to see you, Ray."

"You too. It was all fine and dandy passing notes like little girls, but I really missed you." Ray said, his smile losing a little bit of it’s happiness.

Ray looked different from the last time Michael had seen him, which had been nearly five months earlier. His dark hair had gotten longer and his skin had absorbed some color. His dark eyes looked slightly tired, but still held the glint they always had behind his glasses. The biggest difference was his wings; or lack thereof. Ray had had beautiful, dark brown wings when he had stood in Michael’s home and tearfully explained that he was being thrown from the compound. They were no where to be seen now.

"You really didn’t have to leave. I’m fine, you know." Ray said as they both walked back to the lake shore and sat down.

"Even if I did believe that, I still would have found a reason to get out of there. Ever since you left, I’ve been bored out of my fucking mind." Michael glanced at his friend as saw him smile.

"Thanks." It was a simple response, but it was all Michael needed to confirm that he had made the right decision in leaving his home.


	2. Chapter 2

"Joel, slow down!" Gavin called, fumbling with one of the buckles fastened over his chest as he staggered after the older Demon.

"No. There’s a lake right on the other side of the trees. We’ll slow down when we reach it." Joel called from ten feet ahead.

Gavin tripped over yet another tree root, but he managed to catch himself before anything really important hit the ground. He scrambled to his feet, looking down at the scratches that marred his hands. He did his best to wipe the dirt from the cuts, but he only managed to smudge the stuff, further obscuring the blue spirals on his palms. His skin tingled for a moment, his supernatural healing taking over where he had failed.  
There wasn’t much said as the pair of Demons ventured farther into the dense foliage. Occasionally, Gavin would comment on something he saw and Joel would either give a non-committal grunt or say nothing at all. It was boring, to say the least, but Gavin found ways to pass the time. He would name every animal he saw scamper through the under brush. He’d give each one of them a background story. Like, the two squirrels were married, but Mr. Squirrel was secretly seeing Miss Chipmunk. The activity made the time soar by, and soon he could see light through the trees at the far edge of the woods.

They were almost out of the forest when Joel held out an arm, signaling him to be still. Gavin glanced up at the Incubus’s face. He was concentrating; listening. As he watched, Joel’s horns seemed to retract into his skull until they were just barely visible through his dark mess of hair. His intricate black markings faded into his flesh until you could only see them if you stared really hard at the skin where they used to be.

"There’s someone out there." Joel’s voice was quiet, but there was an edge to it.

Gavin turned his attention from the other Demon to his own arms. The blue pattern was still just as apparent as always. He tried to will them away, but they would not be hidden. He cursed his decision to wear short sleeves. Joel glanced down and rolled his eyes when he saw what the boy was doing.

"Wait here." He instructed firmly.

"Not bloody likely. I’m only here to help in a fight. Besides, what can you do if they attack? Seduce them to death? I don’t think so." It was Gavin’s turn to roll his eyes; technically, Joel was his superior, but at this moment, he needed Gavin.

Joel sighed heavily before he gave a tiny nod and stepped from the trees, Gavin directly behind him. They had only made it a foot or two when their eyes adjusted to the dazzling sunlight, allowing them to see just who sat at the bank of the lake. If it had been anyone else, there would have been no hesitation as they stood up; Gavin would have dropped them with some of his nightmare hoodoo in an instant. But one of them had a pair of what were unmistakably wings. He was an Angel. He had never used his powers against an Angel.

"Who the hell are you?" The Angel said as he and his companion grew closer.

"No one of any import." Joel said, stepping sideways to obscure Gavin from view.

For a moment, he was confused as to why he was being hidden, then his eyes fell to his marks. They were a dead give away. He clasped his hands behind his back in an attempt to hide the lines.

"And who is he?" The Angel asked, nodding towards Gavin.

"Someone even less important than me." Joel said, squaring his shoulders as the two men stopped right in front of him.

"Do you have names?" The Angel crossed his arms loosely.

"It would be safe to assume that we do." Joel mimicked the boys movement and crossed his own arms over his broad chest.

At least a minute of silence stretched out between them before Gavin broke it. “Gavin.” he poked his head around Joel’s arm.

The Angel stared at him before looking back to who stood before him. “And you’re big friend here?”

"He’s Joel." Gavin answered, risking a glance at the other Demon.

"Is there anything else you’d like to tell these complete strangers, Gavin?" Joel hissed through his teeth; Gavin shook his head. "Well, what about you, Angel boy?" 

"I’m Michael, and that’s Ray." He said, gesturing to himself and the silent man to his right in turn. "So, next question; what are you?"

"What do you mean?" Joel asked, tilting his head slightly as he spoke.

"Well, it’s obvious you know what we are." Michael jabbed a thumb towards his wings. "What are you?"

"Oh, so the mute is a flightless bird?" Joel looked at the other man. "Why’d you get your wings clipped?" A cruel smile lifted the corners of his lips.

Ray’s head snapped up, his eyes leaving the ground for the first time since he had walked up to them. His eyes were wide, his lips parted slightly as if it say something, but no words came out.

"Who the fuck do you think you are?" Michael stepped forward, invading Joel’s personal space.

Sensing oncoming conflict, Gavin moved from his place behind Joel to stand between him and Michael, pushing the latter back. “Hey, there’s no need for that.”

Michael looked like he was going to protest, but his gaze found Gavin’s arms. He sprung back and drew his sword in one fluid motion. “I knew there was something wrong with you.”

"Please, don’t. I really don’t want to test this right now." Gavin said, his palms turned towards Michael in a placating gesture.

"What are you talking about?" Michael spat, leveling his blade with Gavin’s heart.

It soon became apparent that Michael was not going to back down any time soon. He closed his eyes and turned his arms so that it almost looked as if he was reaching out for a hug. He had to concentrate if he wanted to do it right. He wasn’t even sure it was going to work properly.

"What the fuck are you—" The Angel never finished his sentence.

As Gavin opened his eyes, he saw Michael’s body fall to the ground with a grass-muffled thud. He was relieved that it had worked, but at the same time, he felt kind of bad for doing it. He knew the kind of nightmares he could induce, and they were nothing to be proud of.

It was an odd sight to behold; the shape of a man sprawled on the grass, half concealed by feathery wings. His eyes were closed and he was definitely asleep, but it looked anything but peaceful. His brow was slightly furrowed and a light sheen of sweat had already broken out across his forehead and upper lip.

"Now the other one." Joel instructed, nodding his head towards where Ray stood frozen in place.

"But he hasn’t done anything." Gavin gave the Incubus a confused look.

"Are you kidding me? Out of everyone they could have sent, they picked the Ephiatles who is morally sound." Joel turned to face Gavin, his anger playing across his handsome features.

"I don’t want to put someone who hasn’t done anything through that." Gavin explained.

While the Demons attention was else where, Ray crept closer to where his best friend lay on the ground. “Michael.” He whispered as he crouched down. “Wake up.” He shook his friends shoulder, but he stayed asleep.

He lightly slapped Michael’s cheek, then poked his ribs; he even went as far as to tug on one of the ginger feathers. None of the actions yielded any results. Michael stayed asleep, his fingers now digging into the soft earth beneath his hands.

"Fine, well at least tie him up. I want to relax for a minute and I don’t want to worry about a shifty penguin creeping up behind me." Joel said.

Ray looked back up at the Demon as yet another jibe about his wingless form left his lips. Old scars, both mental and physical, throbbed with renewed vigor. He tried to put it from his mind and return to the task of waking up his sleeping friend, but Gavin appeared beside him.

"I’m sorry about this." He said, taking Ray’s hands and winding rope around them, securing them with a tight knot.

Ray gave him a curious look; the Demon was apologizing. He had always been taught that all Demons were cold and ruthless, then again, Gavin had asked to spare Ray from whatever Michael was going through. So maybe he had been taught wrong.

Then his mind went to Joel; the hurtful remarks and uncaring way seemed to fit the stereo-typical Demon image. So, maybe it was just Gavin that was different. Ray hoped that he and Michael would be long gone before they had a chance to find out.


	3. Chapter 3

Michael had never truly seen darkness, so he didn’t know to be afraid of it. At the compound, there was always some source of light, whether it be stars or street lamps, there was always some kind of illumination. But now, he was surrounded by darkness; he could feel it press against him, cold and unfriendly. He knew his eyes were open, yet he still saw nothing.  
If felt as if hours passed in the nothingness before anything changed. In the distance, a twinkle of light ripped through the black, shining like a star. Michael walked towards it, noticing that he could move but not feel the sensation of his feet meeting ground. As the light grew closer, he could see a blurry silhouette.

The figure became clearer and the features more defined. She had pale, flawless skin laid over feminine curves. Her pitch black hair fell in perfect ringlets to her waist, the curls bouncing as she swayed. Her clear blue eyes were round and framed by long, dark lashes. Her full, pink lips were curved into an appealing smile as she beckoned Michael closer.

He happily obliged; the woman was absolutely stunning. His feet carried him to her without hesitation. It was then that she raised her hands (which had been clasped behind her back) towards Michael. Where fingers should be, the woman had long, metal talons ending in sharp hooks. He wanted to run away, but still he kept walking towards her.

The woman took hold of Michael when he was close enough, dragging one finger down his cheek, leaving a shallow cut in its wake. He gasped at the searing pain but he didn’t have much time to register it. He was too busy watching the beautiful woman transform into a hideous creature.

Her mouth twisted into a dark, gaping hole lined with yellowed teeth. Her eyes, which were now lidless and covered with a milky film, were set deep in their sockets. The once lovely hair had faded and began to thrash about of its own accord like gray serpents. The woman’s skin clung in loose wrinkles to the jutting bones.

If her face wasn’t enough to terrify Michael, the claws grabbing at his shoulders were. He found himself being spun around; not being able to see what she was doing was much worse than looking directly at her. His imagination was starting to come up with all the horrible things she could do, that he wouldn’t even see coming. He didn’t have much time to imagine, though; soon, he found out what she intended to do to him.

A shiver of dread danced down his spine as metal talons touched feathers. Sharp edges dug into the delicate flesh, finding thin muscle. The razor points drew lines up to the top of his wings where the woman grabbed hold of them. A moment of pure terror consumed Michael; he knew what was about to happen.

The hollow bones cracked beneath the woman’s hands as she tightened her grip. Then, she pulled. Hard. The frail flesh of the wings and the thick skin which covered his back separated with an audible ripping sound. Blood poured, hot and wet, down his back and legs, pooling around his feet. The pain was excruciating to the point where he began to feel it everywhere, even in his teeth. He fell to his kness, blood soaking through the material of his pants.

She had taken his wings; tore them right off his back. He was wingless and bleeding, probably about to die from exsanguination. His vision swam and dark splotches started to bloom in his periphery, trying to overtake his sight. 

The woman walked around and knelt before him so that her eyes were level with his. “It will happen.” she hissed. “If you do not accept the help you are offered.”

All Michael could do was scream.

 

Gavin had been in charge of keeping watch while Joel slept, but somewhere along the line, he had nodded off. He wasn’t sure how long he had been out when a blood curdling scream tore through the air. He flung his eyes open and quickly jumped to his feet. His head spun with the sudden movement and it took him a moment to regain his bearings. When the world stopped doing 360’s, he was able to locate the source of the sound.

Michael was sitting straight up, eyes wide and jaw slack. His clothes were plastered to his body and his red curls clung to his forehead with sweat. From head to toe he was trembling violently. His fingers were stained by the grass and dirt he had dug them into.

Ray, who was sitting about a foot away from his best friend, was whispering something that Gavin couldn’t hear. Michael nodded at whatever was being said, his eyes darting around as if his was checking his surroundings. It was when he tried to move towards Ray that he noticed his hands had been bound.

He was tugging at the ropes when Gavin walked over. “I’m sorry about those, Joel said I had to. I’m sorry about what I did before, too.” his eyes fell to the grass between his feet as if it was the most interesting thing in the world.

"What you did before?" Michael asked, confused at first, but then it hit him. "That nightmare, or whatever it was, that was because of you?" the anger and pain was clear in his voice.

Gavin nodded his head slowly, shame playing across his features. “I’m sorry.”

"Sorry!? Do you have any idea what I went through; what I just saw and felt?" Michael’s skin flushed red as he began to yell.

Once again, Gavin nodded. He always saw the things he put in people’s minds. He stood at the edge of the scene, unable to interfere. He could only watch as people were hurt in unimaginable ways. But the worse part was, he knew exactly which parts were looking into the future; he didn’t know how to explain to Michael that there was a possibility of him losing his wings in the future.

"She was a Terrae Siren. An earth bound seductress who tortures her victims before taking their souls." Gavin wondered why he was explaining this even as he spouted the textbook definition. "She didn’t want your soul though. She just wanted to tell you something."

"Well, I would have paid more attention if I wasn’t bleeding all over the place!" Michael shouted. 

"I wasn’t in control of her, I only let her in and she delivered her message." The Demon laced his fingers together, trying his best not to cower away from the irate Angel.

"What was her message? To me it felt like one big ‘Fuck You’." Michael was on his feet now, advancing towards his supposed tormentor.

"It will happen if you do not accept the help you are offered." Gavin quoted the Siren word for word, stopping the Angel in his tracks.

His feathers bristled ever so slightly at the memory of their demise. “What help am I supposed to me accepting?” he ground out between gritted teeth.

Gavin glanced up; he knew the answer, but didn’t want to say it. Joel would be so upset with him. He glanced over to where the Incubus was leaning against a tree. His eyes were focused on the tiny group but he made no move to approach. Gavin noticed that the other Demon’s horns and markings were fully visible once more.

When Gavin glanced back at Michael, the Angel was waiting with arms crossed; he expected to know just who’s help he was meant to accept.

Gavin took a deep breath before he spoke. “Mine.”


	4. Chapter 4

"Yours?!" Michael broke the tense silence that had stretched out for far too long with a single, bellowed word.

Gavin took a step back even though the Angel was still bound by ropes, preventing him from doing anything dangerous. “I talked to Ray while you were asleep and he said that you walked out of your compound. I don’t know much about Angels, but I know you can’t go back once you leave. Ray told me that you were headed for Tavinia, which is where Joel and I are headed, so I thought that I could help you.” The Demon finally risked eye contact and found just what he expected. Anger.  
The hatred was rolling off Michael in thick waves, expressing itself in the set of his jaw and the bristling of the wings folded against his back. He shot an infuriated look at his so called friend; said man shrunk away from the stare, averting his own eyes.

The Angel opened his mouth as if to speak, but then closed it with a huff. He repeated the action several times before he could successfully make any sound. It wasn’t the sound he had originally intended; he had meant to actually speak, but instead he released an exasperated groan.

He had wanted to adamantly decline the proposition of help without a second thought; any help from a Demon was bound to be riddled with bad intentions. But then the scenes from the nightmare flashed in his minds eye. If what Gavin was saying was true, then if he turned down the Demon’s assistance his wings were going to be ripped out. He shuddered at the thought.

"Fine." he hissed through clenched teeth and refused to say another word.

Gavin wanted to smile, but he felt the action wouldn’t be well received. Instead, he walked to where Joel sat. If extending the offer to Michael had made him nervous, telling Joel about made him downright afraid. It was causing his heart to hammer against his ribs, threatening to break through. The Angel was intimidating, but the Incubus was honestly terrifying.

"J-Joel?" He stammered as he came to a stop before the older Demon.

The man looked up, immediately suspicious. Not a single good question had left Gavin’s mouth, so it was reasonable to assume that this one would be no different.

"Can Michael and Ray come with us?" As he asked he stared down at his toes, muttering the question under his breath.

Joel was on his feet faster than Gavin could scurry away. He grabbed him by the collar, lifting him so he was stood on tip toe, and leaned close; a sort of growl rumbling from deep within his chest.

"Are you seriously suggesting that we take a Fallen and a fucking Angel with us to find my child?" His eyes flashed with crimson for the briefest of moments.

"Th-They’re going to the same p-place, I just th-though that they could t-tag along." He barely managed to stutter his way through the sentence, his heart felt as if it were trying to force its way up his throat.

"Tag along? Do you realize what they are? They were raised to hate us, and in case you missed this somewhere along the way, you are supposed to hate them." Joel’s fist was curled into the material of Gavin’s shirt so tightly that it ripped, allowing the younger Demon to fall back onto flat feet and stagger away.

"Why would I hate them?" Gavin asked, glancing down at his shirt which was ripped from the collar down to the top of his stomach.

"Uh, I don’t know Gavin. Maybe because they’re probably plotting the best way to kill you while you sleep." Joel rolled his eyes skyward.

Gavin shook his head, fingers tugging at the now fraying fabric of his shirt. “I don’t think so. They may hate us, but I don’t think they’re going to try to kill us. They seem… Different.”

"Oh, well, that’s very reassuring. ‘They seem different’." Joel wrapped the statement in air quotes. "What about them is so different from all the others of their kind."

"Well, one of them knows what could happen, and the other has already lived through it. I don’t think they are exactly thrilled with the way the other Angel’s run their whole operation." Gavin was braced for a barrage of comments on his lack of intelligence, but instead, Joel just sighed.

"You know what, do whatever the fuck you want, I don’t care. But if they get in my way, I’ll kill them." He strode across the tiny crop of grassy land to where the Angel and the Fallen still sat with bound hands, whispering to each other. "We’re leaving. Fuck up and you die. Got it?"

The two being addressed looked up at the Incubus, their conversation stopping as soon as he had approached. Michael just glared, but Ray nodded almost imperceptibly. Joel jerked his chin towards their tied hands and walked away. Though he said nothing, Gavin understood what he meant. He pulled the dagger from his belt and bent to free Michael’s hands from their rope confines.

As soon as he was free, the Angel jumped to his feet, rubbing at the red rings which circled his wrists. Gavin cut Ray’s bonds, the man wasn’t as quick getting on his feet. He stepped closer to his friend, seeking protection in the only familiar thing in this odd situation. 

Michael arched his back and stretched his arms upwards, his wings losing some of their tension. Gavin couldn’t help but stare at them; the way the sunlight caught the coppery feathers and how they shifted slightly in the small breeze. Sure, there were Demons with wings but those were all leathery skin stretched over tooth-pick bones and sinew. Angel wings, on the other hand, looked soft and elegant.

"Hurry up." Joel’s voice pulled Gavin from his reverie.

He gathered his bags and the ones which he assumed belonged to Michael, holding them out to aforementioned man. The Angel snatched them away angrily and stomped off towards Joel. Ray trailed behind him, leaving Gavin at the end of the small group.

The atmosphere was heavy with anger and nervous tension as the party headed west; towards where the sun was slowly beginning its descent to the horizon. If tempers didn’t improve soon, this was guaranteed to be a long journey.


	5. Chapter 5

Gavin was surprised beyond belief to learn that Heaven wasn’t all pearly gates and gold roads. He had always pictured it as such a perfect place where everyone was nice and liked each other, but this seemed not to be the case.   
"Pretty much everyone there is a prick." Ray elucidated as he and Gavin sat beside a small camp fire.

The fallen angel and lower demon had quickly realized that they had a lot in common. Both were looked down upon by their own kind and treated as inferior. Both were considered failures and were rejected. They had easily struck up a conversation as they settled in for the night.

"If you don’t fit into the exact mold they want you to, then you’re flawed. Being flawed is really bad to most Angels." Ray rolled his shoulders and winced. "They treat the flawed as broken, and if you can’t be fixed, then they don’t want you anymore."

"I wouldn’t last a minute there." Gavin said. "Everyone back at the Camp thought I was broken since I was little. No one wanted to be around me or deal with me so they just sort of stuck me in a room and tried their best to forget me. This is the first time I’ve been outside of the walls."

"So they just ignored you?" Ray asked, his eyebrows drawing together.

"Pretty much. It wasn’t all bad though. I had this one friend, Dan. He used to come over to my house and talk to me when no one else would." Gavin smiled almost sadly as he spoke.

"Used to?" Ray recognized the reminiscing tone in the Demon’s voice.

"Yeah. He went off to fight in the war when he turned eighteen. He never came back." Gavin stared down at his laced fingers, his voice growing a little weaker.

"Ah, man, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought it up." Ray didn’t like the sad version of the normally happy Demon; it made him shiver, like he was seeing what could have become of Gavin if he didn’t have his positive personality.

"It’s okay." Gavin smiled, though it wasn’t as bright as it had been earlier in the day. "Anyway, enough depressing stuff." he waved his hand as if he could physically remove the topic from the air. "Why are you and the angry Angel headed to Tavinia?"

Ray chuckled as he glanced at his best friend who was already fast asleep on the other side of the fire. “Michael left the compound because I got thrown out. I’ve been living in Tavinia since they made me leave, so we’re going to head there before we make any definite plans.”

"You don’t have to tell me, but why did you get kicked out?" Gavin asked hesitantly.

"Well, like I said, flawed is broken. To the rest of the Angels, I was really flawed. I fell in love and that is a big no-no." Ray explained. "And besides the fact that they were human, they were also a dude." He laughed, but the sound was devoid of humor. "Usually there’s a trial for people who break the big rules, but not for me. The day the head honchos found out, they took my wings and tossed me out on my sweet little ass."

"Angels sound like serious dicks." Gavin said.

"Most of them are." Ray agreed. "So, what about Demons? Are they all bundles of sunshine?"

Gavin snorted. “Yeah, they’re all smiles and rainbows when they’re not trying to kill things, or skin them, or eat them, or generally maim them. If they are not causing pain, then, sure, they’re sweet as kittens.”

"But you don’t seem to be like that, you’re down right cheerful." Ray had only known the Demon for a short time, but within that time he had shown nothing but kindness, even when dropping Michael to the ground.

"I’m not a proper Demon. I’ve never been fond of causing pain even though I’m good at it. Most of us are indifferent, but I hate it. Making even the strongest of men beg for forgiveness is considered a big talent, but I don’t want it. Dan used to say I’d become human if I could. I think he might’ve been right. I don’t see what’s so bad about being human."

Ray’s head immediately ran through all of the terrible flaws about being mortal, but he didn’t voice any of them. “Yeah, it has it’s perks.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Michael awoke with a start. There was a boot kicking his side, not hard enough to leave any noticeable marks but certainly not gently, either. He squinted his eyes against the bright sunlight as he glanced up at the body attached to the boot. Joel loomed over him, laden with bags.

"Get up. We’re leaving." Joel said with another prod of his toe to Michael’s ribs.

The Angel groaned and clambered to his feet. He stretched his arms above his head, a noise akin to the sort a dinosaur would make was pushed out from somewhere deep in his chest. His wings tensed as they flexed, feathers ruffling when they relaxed once again. When he glanced across the now empty fire pit he noticed the happy Demon staring at him. As soon as they made eye contact Gavin dropped his gaze to the ground. Michael glared at the other man for a moment before picking up his bags and walking to where Ray was standing.

"If we make it through this without anyone dying, it’ll be a fucking miracle." Michael huffed.

"They’re not that bad." Ray said, his eye quickly finding where Joel stood, emanating waves of loathing. "Or at least Gavin isn’t that bad."

Michael groaned, giving his best friend a look of betrayal. “Don’t tell me you like those dick heads!”

"He’s not a dick head. He’s actually pretty cool." Ray just shrugged.

"Whatever man." Michael stomped off, leaving Ray to make sure he had everything packed.

"What’s wrong with him?" Gavin asked, filling in the spot which Michael had just abandoned.

"He was raised in a really strict house. His parents were really big Demon haters." Ray seemed apologetic even though he had done nothing wrong.

"Understandable. We’re easy to hate." Gavin laughed and twisted the strap on one of his bags.

Ray stared after the Demon as he jogged over to Joel. For such a seemingly happy person, Gavin could say some pretty intense things. Ray shook his head and followed the small group as they ventured into the forest.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! If you like this chapter or want to see something in future chapters please leave a review, they keep me going! Thanks!

"Joel!" Gavin whined, tripping over yet another tree root. "I'm hungry."  
The older Demon spun around to face Gavin, who shrank back at the look in his eyes. "I swear, if you whine one more time I will cut your tongue out." Joel hissed.  
Gavin stuck out his lower lip like a scolded child on the verge of tears, which in reality, he could very well be. With a disgusted scoff Joel stalked away and continued on his way through the forest.  
Ray stopped beside Gavin and placed a hand on his shoulder. "C'mon man. There's a village about two miles ahead. We can stop and eat there." He patted Gavin's shoulder and guided him down the path that Joel had taken.  
Michael hated to even think the thought, but he agreed with the filthy Demon. He was starving. His stomach gave an unhappy gurgle as if to solidify the thought. With a sigh he readjusted the straps of his bag and trudged behind the rest of the tiny party.  
They traveled in relative silence apart from the bits of conversation Gavin and Ray exchanged. As soon as the trees thinned and gave way to a small field, Gavin gave a whoop of joy.  
"Finally!" He cried, starting towards the village which sat on the other side of the field.  
"Wait." Joel held out his arm to stop Gavin. "We can't just go waltzing into a human village. You think they won't notice the birds' wings? We'll be chased out before we make it to the pub."  
"Well what do you expect me to do?" Michael demanded, crossing his arms.  
"Seeing as you're probably opposed to the idea of cutting them off--" Joel's worlds made Michael's feathers ruffle with agitated anger. "I suppose I can hide them."  
"Hide them?" Gavin furrowed his brow as he looked over Michael's wings.  
They were pretty big, the tops reaching his neck and the bottom most feathers lined up with his calves. Michael didn't like the attention he was getting, it made him shift uncomfortably.  
"Yeah, I can transfer some of my magic to him for a little while and make the monstrosities vanish. Poof." Joel smirked at the horrified look which plagued the Angel's features.  
"You are not touching my wings." Michael hissed, reminded suddenly of his nightmare.  
"Then you can walk around the village. I really don't care." Joel grabbed Gavin's wrist and pulled him towards the village.  
From the point of contact, a tingling warmth spread up Gavin's arm. He watched wide with eyes as the tracery of blue swirls faded into his tan skin until there was no sign they'd ever been there in the first place.  
"Wait!" It surprised them all to find that it had been Ray who had called for them to stop.  
Joel paused for a moment before turning around and lifting a single brow. "What?"  
Ray turned his gaze to Michael. "Just let him do it." He didn't want to admit it to Michael, but Ray had actually come to like traveling with Gavin in the short time they had been together.  
"He's not taking my wings." Michael said, but immediately regretted the words when he saw Ray's expression.  
Michael's wings would only be gone for a few hours while they made their way through the village; Ray's wings were gone forever.  
Michael growled in frustration but all the same looked to Joel. "Just do it."  
With an arrogant smirk Joel sauntered over the scowling Angel and laid a hand on his shoulder. Neither involved looked too pleased at the proximity but they stayed silent as Joel let the magic flow from his fingers and into Michael.  
Michael's wings vanished slowly, at first, and then all at once in a shimmer and he froze. The sudden loss of the weight was one of the most uncomfortable things he had ever experienced. He tried to twist his head enough to see the spot where they had once been but he couldn't manage it.  
"Welcome to the club, buddy." Ray laughed but there clear sadness behind the sound and the smile which curved his lips didn't quite reach his eyes.  
"If you're done with the pity party I'd like to eat." Joel said as he resumed his trek towards the buildings across the field.  
Gavin glanced at Michael and Ray before jogging to catch up with Joel. The other men shared a look and a sigh before following. The sun was beginning its downward descent, the shadows twisting in accordance with the light. They may end up staying in the village over night.  
"Try not to draw attention to yourselves." Joel said dryly, his eyes not leaving the path ahead of him.  
"Don't worry, Joel. I'll act completely human!' Gavin grinned and gave a salute that made the older Demon roll his eyes.  
It wasn't Gavin that Joel was worried about; from the corner of his eye he watched Michael kick a small rock with the tip of his boot. The Angel was muttering silently to himself, features twisting to express his anger.  
They made it to the center of the small village within the hour, the small group walking into the pub. There were no dramatics as they sat down at a table at the back of the dimly lit room, no one paid them any mind.  
"What can I do for you?" A young woman stepped up to the table, wiping her hands on the already dirty apron tied around her waist.  
Joel's eyes raked over the girls curvy form briefly before he spoke. "Just something to eat, it doesn't matter what. And four pints of whatever you've got." He gave her a charming smile.  
The woman flushed from her ample chest to the roots of her wavy, chestnut hair. She faltered for a moment before turning and trotting off.  
"Joel, no." Gavin warned as the older Demon's eyes followed the woman's figure disappear around a corner. "You're the one who said we can't draw attention to ourselves."  
"That's the difference between you and me, Eph. I can do what I do without making a scene. I'm good at it." Joel turned his attention back to Gavin, dark eyes boring holes through the younger Demon.  
"N-No!" Gavin stammered but still retained the forcefulness he'd had before.  
"Who's going to stop me?" Joel raised an eye brow and sneered.  
"Don't make me." Gavin's voice dropped to nearly a whisper.  
Joel rolled his eyes and snorted. "Yeah, like you'd do anything."  
He made like he was about to get up and follow the young woman, pushing away from the table, but Gavin moved too quickly. He grabbed Joel's hand, eyes closing for a moment. All it took was two beats for Joel to fall forward, his forehead hitting the table top with a loud thud; he would not be happy about that when he woke up.  
A few of the pubs other patrons turned to see what the sudden noise was and Gavin put on his best smile as he drew his hand away quickly. "He's just drunk. Sorry." He called.  
The other people seemed to accept this answer and they all went back to what they had been doing before the disturbance.  
"He's going to be so mad at me." Gavin shrank in his chair, staring down at his hands as if they were their own monsters.  
"So what if he's mad, he deserved it." Michael said, allowing himself to laugh for the first time since this absurd situation began.  
Gavin looked at the Angel, his lips tilting into the smallest of smiles. Even though his wings were gone, Gav could still make out their shape like it had been traced in the air by a feather light touch. Maybe it was because he had some of Joel's magic.  
Gavin's eyes went wide. Joel's magic was the only thing hiding their bizarre features from everyone. It would start to wear off now that Joel was incapable of maintaining any level of focus.  
"We have to go." Gavin stood up quickly, banging his knee against the underside of the table, but he didn't care.  
"But the food." Michael protested, staring at the Demon as if he'd lost his mind.  
"Ray, can you wait for it and ask her to bring it up? I'll get us a room." Gavin darted to the woman behind a desk at the front of the pub. "Can I have a room, please?"  
"Sure, darling. That'll be eight Sellins." The woman gave him a warm smile.  
Gavin cursed and ran back to Joel. He shoved his hand into the older man's pockets, rummaging around until he found the little coin purse. Triumphantly, Gavin returned to the front desk and dumped eight of the shiny, silver coins into her palm.  
"Room 6." She handed him a key and he jogged back to the small group.  
"Help me with him." Gavin instructed Michael, looping one of Joel's arms around his shoulder.  
"I'm not touching--" Michael began but was cut short.  
"Just do it!" Although he did not raise his voice, it was clear that Gavin meant business.  
Michael closed his mouth and did as was asked of him, slinging Joel's other arm over his shoulder.  
"We're in room 6." Gavin said to Ray before pulling Joel, and subsequently Michael, towards the stairs on the far side of the room.  
It was a struggle to make it up the staircase while lugging Joel's dead weight, but they somehow managed it. They made it just in time, too. As they dumped the unconscious Incubus onto one of the beds, images began to pulse in Gavin's mind.  
He hadn't thought of this part when he had used his power on Joel. It was prying into the man's deepest fears and it felt wrong. Gavin shifted his weight from one foot to the other as scene after scene flared before his eyes.  
There was a lot of fire, but not the normal kind. It was green and the smoke rose from the flames in black swirls. Each tongue licked at Joel, eager to get closer. They wrapped around his ankles and wrists, slowly clawing their way up his arms and legs.  
It took Gavin a moment to place the strange fire. He had seen pictures of similar infernos in some of his books. They had called it Ethereal Fire. Paintings of green serpents made of flames that climbed up a persons body, burning them and draining them of all of their power and sanity. It was said that just touching the smallest flame would drive a man mad.  
And mad it was driving Joel. In his head, Gavin could hear him scream in the most pathetic and defeated way possible.  
Gavin squeezed his eyes shut but that did nothing to help him escape the flood of images that were overwhelming him. He swayed almost drunkenly, his head spinning.  
"Whoa there." Michael said, placing a hand cautiously on Gavin's arm. "Are you okay?" He asked.  
Gavin nodded but the motion made the room whirl in a blur of colors. His knees turned to water and he felt himself falling. But something caught him; or someone, rather. Michael guided him back into one of the straight-backed chairs against the wall. He tried to thank him but he could not form the words. Instead, he smiled and passed out.

Michael stared at Gavin, unsure of what to do. The Demon had stumbled and fallen for no apparent reason, leaving it to Michael to make sure he didn't crack his head open on the edge of the nearby table. Gavin was now sat in a chair, his head leaning against the wall behind him. He had broken out in a light sheen of sweat and his cheeks had tinted with the feint pink of fever. It looked like he had suddenly taken ill.  
"Gavin?" It was the first time he had said the other man's name aloud and the solitary word felt foreign on his tongue.  
Michael turned his head to look at Joel who was in a similar state, cheeks pink and sweating profusely.  
"Great, just great." Michael mumbled as he sat down on the edge of the vacant bed. "I'm stuck with two passed out Demons. Fucking fantastic."


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is un-betaed!   
> If you haven't figured it out by now, the romantic plot in this story is slow building! This chapter is also mostly (all) Ray and Joel. Enjoy and please leave a comment!

Ray had never exactly been what one would call sociable. Even when he had still been an Angel he hadn't had many friends. Just Michael. That was the only reason it hadn't hurt like it should have when he was banished; there was nothing for him in the compound. So when they tossed him out, the only thing he could bring himself to miss about his childhood home was his best friend.

But now he had Michael back and there was nothing to keep him from living his new life to the fullest. As a human. As it always did, the thought deflated him. He may not have fit in with the other Angels but he missed being one. He missed his wings the most.

Sometimes he'd feel the phantom brush of feathers against the back of his calves, or the weight of bone and muscle shifting against his shoulder blades. Without them he had no security blanket to wrap protectively around himself when it was cold or the leers from the people who knew what he was seemed to grate against his skin like talons.

And there were always people who just knew. Without seeing the scars which marred his back or hearing him say the words out loud, there were strangers who automatically knew that he was an outcast. They would curl their lips in disgust and scoff, or worse, they would look at him with pity in their eyes. He didn't want anyone's pity, it only made him feel worse. 

"'Ere you are, love." The pretty woman from earlier slid a tray laden with food and mugs of, what Ray assumed to be, ale on to the table. "Will that be all?" She asked with a tilt of her head.

Ray nodded, a small smile curving his lips. He rose to his feet and lifted the tray. It was surprisingly heavy and he was shocked that the woman had managed to carry it so effortlessly. He had to concentrate on not dropping or spilling anything as he walked up the staircase.

When he reached the door labeled '6', he kicked it hard enough to make a sound. In a few moments the door swung open to reveal a clearly frazzled Michael. 

"Thank god." Michael took the tray from Ray's hands with ease and carried it into the room, placing it on a table against the wall.

"Your wings." Ray said as Michael sat down at the table.

Said appendages were currently brushing the wooden planks on either side of the chair and were very clearly no longer invisible. 

Michael shrugged and grabbed a chunk of bread, tearing off a piece and chewing. "Seems since freak one took freak two out his magic trick wore off. His arms look like a three year olds finger painting." Michael nodded at a chair behind him where Gavin was slumped, unconscious. 

Ray walked over the the Demon and knelt before him so he could peer up at his face. "What happened to him?"

"Hell if I know." Michael washed down the bread with a gulp of ale. "He was fine one minute and then all of a sudden his just stumbled around like a drunk and passed out. I think it has something to do with whatever he did to knock him out." Michael jabbed a thumb towards where Joel was lying on one of the beds.

Ray remembered what had happened when Gavin had used the same ability against Michael. He had seemed fine until he had sat down on first watch. Then Ray had noticed that he was shaking from head to toe.

Ray stood and shuffled over to the bed where Joel was sprawled out and cautiously leaned over him. He was sweating and breathing like he had just outrun a pack of wild dogs. His features were pained and every once and a while he'd make a sort whimpering noise, like he wanted to scream but the sound was lodged in his throat.

Barely aware of his actions, Ray reached out a hand and ran a finger over the furrow between Joel's eye brows. At the touch, Joel murmured incoherently and stirred slightly. Ray withdrew his hand as if it had been burned and stepped away quickly.

"When do you think they'll wake up?" Ray asked, turning his attention towards his best friend.

"Don't know. But there's no use just standing there and worrying, it won't wake their sorry asses up any faster." Michael said around his mouthful of mashed potatoes. 

Ray sighed and fell into the chair across from Michael. He grabbed a piece of bread and bit into it, eyes lingering on the restless form of the sleeping Demon. It seemed, for now, that he could do nothing but wait.

 

Joel's eyes opened and all at once the unbearable burning that had been raking against his skin ceased. His flesh still tingled with the vague memory of the sensation and his fingers were curled so tightly in the bed sheets beneath him that it hurt to straighten them.

With a groan he pushed himself up onto his elbows and surveyed his surroundings. It took a moment for the events to come back to him but as soon as they hit him, he was on his feet with a snarl.

His gaze landed on Gavin who was slowly regaining his own faculties. In an instant Joel had the younger Demon by the front of the shirt and was pulling him up.  
"I should kill you right now." He growled through gritted teeth, eyes flashing crimson.

Gavin's eyes went wide and it seemed that he had been fully jolted back into reality. He pressed his palms against Joel's chest and pushed against him but Joel was an unmovable wall of furiously trembling muscle.

"I-- I had to do it. You were going to use your-- Your powers on that woman." Gavin stammered, trying to work his fingers under Joel's to pry them loose.

"I wouldn't have hurt her. I can do what I do without hurting anyone, unlike you." Joel hissed, a sneer curling his lips.

Gavin's hands fell to his sides and his mouth opened but he could find no words to argue with the other Demon's point. "You're not allowed." The words were quiet and unsure.

Joel's lips parted to throw back another hurtful remark but he was stopped by a hand curling around his forearm. His eyes, bright with unbridled anger, shot to the person attached to the offensive limb.

Ray stared up at him, fear beneath his calm exterior. He was scared, as was evident by the shaking fingers which clutched Joel's arm. Most people withered under the kind of glare that Joel was casting on the fallen Angel, but Ray seemed to take it as a challenge. He squared his shoulders and lifted his chin.

"Let him go. He was just trying to keep us safe and out of trouble, which is more than you did." Ray said, staring straight into the Demon's eyes.

For a moment Joel was startled by the words, but he hid his astonishment well. His hands opened, letting Gavin drop to his feet with a thud. Michael was there to steady the boy with a hand on his elbow.

"How would you know if I was 'keeping us safe' or not?" Joel sneered mockingly, swinging around the face the fallen Angel. "Maybe that's exactly what I was doing. Maybe I was keeping you safe from something much more frightening than a few suspicious villagers."

"And what might that be?" Ray asked, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Me." Joel's voice dropped dangerously low, the single, whispered word weighing more than any long-winded explanation ever could. "I could do more damage with a single touch than those humans could do with a sword in both hands."

Ray swallowed, his breath hitching momentarily in his chest, but he didn't look away or cower in the face of what could be considered some peoples worst nightmare. Instead, he took a step towards the Demon and tilted his head back so he could maintain eye contact.

"You'd be surprised by what us humans can do." He said defensively.

For the space of a single heart beat Joel was caught off guard, but it took him no time at all to recover. "I wouldn't consider you human. You're worth less than even the lesser beings. You disgust me."

"Well join the fucking club." Ray spat before spinning around and stalking out of the room, leaving behind only the sound of the door slamming.

Joel's eyes practically bored holes through the wood of the door. 

"Who the fuck do you think you are?" Michael demanded, stepping into Joel's line of sight. "You can't go around insulting everyone. You're going to get decked one day and have no one to blame but yourself."

Joel scoffed but didn't give any other answer. He moved to the bed that he had been laying on earlier. He took a seat on the edge facing the wall so that his back was to Michael and Gavin. He laced his fingers together and hung his hands between his knees. His eyes didn't leave his hands for nearly an hour as he tried to figure out why in the world a hint of regret was gnawing at his brain.

 

Ray had no where to go, but he didn't want anyone to see the breakdown he was sure he was about to have. He made his way down the stairs and out the front door, sucking in a breath of cool night air to clear his head.

He didn't make it very far, just around the corner of the building, before his muscles caved to the exhaustion they had been fighting off. He leaned against the outside of the building and slid down. Ray's body was racked with tiny tremors and it felt like a rock was on his chest, preventing him from catching his breath.

Never in his life had he been so scared. Sure, there was no blade at his throat or any weapon at all, but Joel was more intimidating than any sharp point could ever be. Under any other circumstances, Ray wouldn't dared to even get near the Demon when he was fuming the way he had been, but the sight of Gavin, who he now counted as a friend, so terrified pushed away some of the fear.

The reality of the situation came crashing down over him like a bucket of ice water. He had just made an enemy out of a powerful Demon that he was supposed to be traveling with. There was no way he was going to be able to keep traveling with them now.

He didn't know the specifics but he knew that Michael needed to go with the Demons, or Gavin more specifically, and he had just sealed his place as an enemy of the person calling all the shots within their little group.

Ray wasn't sure how long he sat there in the dirt, shaking and gasping, before someone else stumbled around the corner. She staggered down the alley between the pub and whatever was next door, singing a tuneless song under her breath. She didn't see Ray until she was barely a foot away.

"Y'alright there?" Her words were slurred, as expected

"I-I'm fine." Ray's voice was quiet and unsure.

"Well then, whatsa pretty thing like you doin' on the ground?" The woman took a step towards where Ray was huddled, teetering precariously on her heeled shoes.

"Nothing." Ray muttered, clambering to his feet and staring to edge along the wall and away from the stranger.

"Are you sure?" The woman advanced on him and placed a hand on either side of his shoulders, effectively blocking his easy escape.

The body heat and smell of ale rolled off the stranger in waves, causing Ray to wrinkle his nose and press himself against the wall. The woman was only a few inches shorter than him, the pile of dishwater blonde curls atop her head reaching eye level. Her decolletage was spilling over the bodice of her dress and her underskirt had shifted to give the garment an odd, lumpy look; the pleats of the cotton were wrinkled beyond saving. 

"I'm sure." Ray was trying his best not to breathe through his nose to avoid the malodorous smell of ale.

The woman pressed closer, moving one hand from its resting place against the wall and allowing her fingers to trail across Ray's cheekbone. He jerked away from the touch but the hand tried to follow his movement. In her drunken state, the woman underestimated the force with which she pushed her fingers towards Ray's face. One of her long, painted nails raked his cheek, eliciting a hiss of pain.

All at once the oppressive heat vanished, leaving behind only the lingering stench of alcohol and the stinging pain on his cheek. Ray stared with wide eyes as the woman stumbled away from him, propelled backwards by the hand on her shoulder.

Joel towered over the woman, eyes almost black in the shadows which contoured his face. 

"You're going to leave and forget about this." His voice had taken on a honeyed tone that was so unlike his normal growl that Ray could do nothing but blink as he watched Joel press his palm against the woman's cheek.

Her eyes seemed to mist over temporarily and she smiled up at Joel serenely. As soon as Joel dropped his hand the woman swayed for a moment before turning around and wobbling away, disappearing at the mouth of the alley.

"What did you do to her?" Ray asked, pushing away from the wall. 

"Replaced her memories. She'll wake up tomorrow thinking she got what she wanted from someone else and never think about it again." Joel hadn't even finished the sentence before he was moving in the opposite direction that the woman had taken. 

Ray had to jog to catch up. "You shouldn't have done that."

"I suppose a thank you is too much to ask for." Joel snapped, all evidence of the sweet tone he had adopted earlier was gone.

"I could have handled her myself." Ray had to crane his neck to look at Joel properly.

A muscle in the Demon's jaw jumped as his ground his teeth together. "Yes. You looked like you were handling her just fine." He spat.

Joel took longer strides, allowing him to gain distance quickly and separating him from Ray who made no effort to catch up this time. Instead, he watched Joel's retreating form. His perpetually tense muscles rolled beneath the thin material of his shirt and his dark, tousled hair moved with the whispering breeze. Despite the hostility between the two of them, Ray had admit that the Demon was exceptionally attractive. 

He mentally shook himself; that line of thinking would get him exactly no where. The last time thoughts like that had wormed their way into his brain he ended up having his wings taken. He had nothing left that was worth anyone taking, but still he was afraid that someone would take it. 

Ray quickened his pace as Joel vanished through the door to the pub. He followed him up the stairs and into the room. The Demon took a seat on one of the beds so that his back was to the rest of the room, horns shimmering back into existence and markings coloring his skin once more.

"What the fuck happened to your face?" Michael asked.

He hadn't left his seat at the table and the place where Ray had sat across from him was now filled by Gavin. Ray reached up and winced when his fingers came into contact with the cut on his cheek.

"It's a long story." He said, and he thought he heard Joel scoff, but he couldn't be sure. 

He collapsed onto the unoccupied bed, his eyes fluttering shut. There was no doubt in his mind that Michael would be expecting to hear the story, no matter how long it was, but it could wait until later. He'd had a long day and all he wanted to do was sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

"Where the hell am I supposed to sleep?" Michael asked no one in particular, taking in the scene before him.

Both of the beds were occupied, one by Ray and the other by Joel. Gavin had curled up on the floor atop a blanket. He wouldn’t mind sharing a bed with Ray, the two had done it quite a few times throughout their childhood, but Ray had a tendency to sleep spread eagle and the tiny bed couldn’t fit them both in that state.  
"Joel will only sleep for a couple hours. If you take first watch, he should wake up soon enough and then you can have his bed." Gavin said with a yawn, startling Michael who had assumed the other man had been asleep.

Michael grumbled a slight protest but resigned himself to first watch. He angled his chair towards the door slightly and crossed his arms. Sure enough, Joel stirred after just two hours and stretched with a groan.

"Get some sleep. I don’t want to have to deal with your whiny ass all day." Joel took a seat in one of the empty chairs.

Michael didn’t have to be told twice; he practically launched himself onto the bed, pulling the blankets up to his waist. In a matter of minutes he was sound asleep.

The images that filled his sleep couldn’t be categorized as either a dream or a nightmare. They were simply a faded, distorted sequence of memories, each blurring into the next. They left behind no impression and by the time he was watching another scene he had forgotten the previous one.

It was a pleasant reprieve from the exhausting chain of events which normally plagued his sleeping hours. He didn’t know what was different about that night, but something had put his tired mind at ease. Whatever it was, he was grateful for it.

 

Gavin awoke with the most horrible knot in his neck. He winced as he sat up, rubbing at the aching spot. Sleeping on a hard, wooden floor had done his already tired muscles no favors. He pushed himself to his feet and stretched his arms above his head, the vertebrae in his back cracking with a series of satisfying pops.

"It’s about time. If you didn’t stop tossing and turning soon I was going to kick you awake." Joel was plucking at a loose thread on his trousers, having nothing better to do.

"It’s not my fault." Gavin complained quietly. "The floor is hard."

Joel turned a look on him which all too clearly said ‘are you fucking kidding me?’ before his hands resumed their absent minded movements.

Gavin shuffled over to the bed that Ray was sprawled across. They may not have been best friends, but he didn’t think Ray would mind it much if Gavin slept on the edge of the bed. But the idea was short lived when, no matter how he poked at the sleeping man, Ray would not move. His limbs were splayed so that he took up most of the bed, leaving no room for anyone else.

He didn’t want to wake up Ray, so he turned away, prepared to sit in a chair and try to sleep sitting up, but his eyes fell to the second bed. Micheal lay on the far side, one wing draped over his body and the other hanging off the edge behind him. He was sure that Michael would most definitely mind sharing a bed with a Demon, but Gavin convinced himself that he could wake up early and be gone before Michael noticed him.

He slid onto the mattress and pulled the blankets as high as they would go without snagging on Michael’s wings. He maintained as much distance as he could without falling off the bed. The first tugging sensations of sleep were just starting to pull him down when he felt a shift in weight on the bed.

Suddenly, he was face to face with an Angel. They were so close that their breath mingled in the space separating them. The wing that had been covering Michael was now draped across Gavin. He wasn’t positive, but he thought he heard Joel laugh dryly from across the room.

"Michael." Gavin’s voice was too quite to really wake anyone up, and he tried to squirm his way out.

The Angel hummed sleepily and snuggled down into the pillow, effectively trapping Gavin by doing so. Gavin tried to push the wing off but it acted almost like another limb. It pressed down when he tried to lift it, like an arm trying to hold him.

Another thing that shocked Gavin about the wing was how soft it was. It wasn’t like he had meant to end up essentially petting the satiny feathers, he had only wanted to move the wing. But when his fingers stroked the feathers closest to him, he paused for a moment.

They were other worldly soft; it was like running his hands through liquid silk. He couldn’t resist trailing his fingers through the innermost scapular feathers, the downy ones which grew close to Michael’s shoulder blades.

To his utter astonishment, said Angel moaned. It wasn’t a very pronounced sound but Gavin heard it loud and clear. He snatched his hand back and cradled it to his chest as if the petal-soft feathers had cut him.

"Joel." Gavin whispered urgently. "Joel! Get him off me!"

"You got yourself in to this mess. You can get yourself out." Joel didn’t bother lowering his voice when he spoke.

"Michael." Gavin’s hoarse whisper wasn’t enough to wake the sleeping Angel and he knew it.

He wriggled beneath the weight of the wing; it was not heavy enough to be bothersome yet for some reason Gavin couldn’t quite catch his breath. He squirmed, ruffling a few feathers in the process. 

Michael grumbled unhappily, his arm going across Gavin’s stomach and pulling him closer. Gavin let out a squeak in protest. The sound was barely there but it seemed to be enough to rouse Michael. The Angel’s brown eyes opened slowly and in his state of half awake it took a moment for him to take in the situation. His eyes briefly met Gavin’s before they dropped to where his arm was slung over the Demon’s abdomen.

"What the hell!?" Michael exclaimed suddenly, scrambling off of the bed.

The blanket had wound itself around his legs and he toppled to the floor. Spitting expletives, he disentangled himself from the fabric and got to his feet, his face beet red. The second his eyes landed on Gavin his string of curses trailed into sputters.

"What the hell were you doing?" He snarled.

"I wasn’t doing anything. I was just lying there and you turned over and sort of pinned me down." Gavin worried the hem of his shirt, eyes locked firmly on the cloth.

"Why were you in the same bed as me?" His voice lost none of its growling tones between questions.

"The floor was really hard and I couldn’t sleep. I was going to share with Ray but he takes up the whole bed." Gavin glanced over his shoulder.

Michael followed the Demon’s gaze and saw that his friend was sprawled over the entirety of the mattress. Ray had always slept that way; limbs splayed and jaw slack. Michael could recall multiple occasions where Ray had shoved him out of the bed when they were children. He forced his attention back to the still fidgeting Demon, eyes narrowing.

"Then you should have stayed awake." He was no longer screaming, but the anger was still simmering within his words.

"We’ll be walking all day. If I didn’t sleep then I would have probably passed out while we were walking." Gavin’s gaze snapped up to meet Michael’s.

"That’s your problem, not mine." Michael snarled.

"Why does this bother you so much. I was just lying on the edge of the bed and you rolled over and trapped me under your wing. It wasn’t my fault. You wouldn’t move!" Gavin clenched his fists at his side.

Michael’s mouth opened and closed then opened again, like a fish out of water. His face paled, making the smattering of freckles stand out in stark contrast. They stared at each other in silence, the passing time measured only by the steady breaths of the sleeping boy behind them. 

"If you’re done with your little lovers tiff, I suggest at least one of you get some more sleep. I will not deal with two sleep deprived assholes all day." Joel was the one to break the tense atmosphere.

"You take the damn bed, since you wanted it so much." Michael fell unceremoniously into the chair across from Joel with a huff.

Gavin, not one to prod an angry bull, nodded, slipped quietly beneath the blanket, and pulled it up to his chin. Barely a minute had passed before he succumbed to the pull of sleeps dark tendrils.

Joel glanced at the now sleeping Demon and shook his head. “I almost feel sorry for the kid.”

"What for?" Michael picked at the splintering edge of the table.

"He’s most likely never had a good nights sleep and this town sure as hell isn’t going to help. There’s probably messed up and tortured people around every corner." Joel took a swig of the ale which had, by now, lost its warmth.

"What does that have to do with him sleeping?" Michael tried his best to seem uninterested.

Joel gave him a look like he was the most clueless person he’d ever met. “He has dominion over dreams. Well, I wouldn’t call it control so much as insight. When he goes to sleep, he sees all of dreams and nightmares of everyone around him. And the terrible things that go on in nightmares tend to drown out whatever happy dream tries to wiggle its way in.”

Michael couldn’t help but to let his eyes wander over to Gavin’s sleeping form beneath the blanket. He thought about what Joel had said, and although he refused to admit it, even to himself, he felt sorry for Gavin, too.


	9. Chapter 9

"If you're not up in five minutes then I'm leaving you behind." Those were the words which began Ray's morning.

Joel grabbed a fist full of the blanket which was draped over Ray and gave it a sharp yank, sending it to the floor with a soft shwoosh. The younger man scrambled to a sitting position and stared at Joel, disbelief and irritation flitting over his features.

The Demon gave him an unsympathetic look before stalking to the other bed to rouse Gavin. Joel took the younger Demon by the wrist and hauled him to his feet. Gavin's swirling blue marks began to vanish, receding into his skin and leaving his arms blank. 

Ray glanced over to where Michael stood, adjusting his sword so it rested against his hip bone. His friends wings were already hidden, the only sign that they existed at all were the two identical slashes in the back of Michael's shirt.

The morning passed with very little conversation as the majority of the party sleepily gathered their belongings. 

"I can carry one of those, if you want." Ray nodded his head towards one of the bags that Gavin had yet to grab.

"Thanks so much, Ray! I'm always afraid that i'm going to drop and lose something. If I lost anything of Joel's I think he might have my head." Gavin helped Ray buckle the bag across his chest and adjusted it so that both of his bags could lay against his back comfortably. 

"Are you idiots almost ready?" Joel asked, but didn't bother turning around from the small, dingy mirror he was facing. "Why isn't it working?" He snapped at his reflection, tilting his head to better examine the skin of his neck.

His horns were gone completely but if you looked close enough, faint grey hints of his intricate markings were still visible. Gavin, who had finally finished strapping his bags around him, stepped forward and squinted at the barely there pattern.

"It worked yesterday. What's different now?" Gavin asked inquisitively.

"I don't know." Joel growled. "This usually only happens if I've expended too much energy. But cloaking your marks and bird boys feathers is hardly a workout. Other than that I haven't--" He cut himself off abruptly, his angry gaze swinging to Ray's reflection.

It only took a moment for the pieces to click into place Ray's mind. He crossed his arms tightly across his chest and met Joel's glare in the glass.

"That wasn't my fault!" Ray snapped defensively.

Joel snorted and spun around, mirroring the other man's stance. "Well then whose fault was it?" He demanded, eyes narrowing.

"I didn't ask for your help!" Ray's voice went up in volume, teetering on the edge between a snarl and a scream.

Joel opened his mouth to retort but was interrupted by Michael's naturally loud voice. 

"Help with what?" The Angel took his place at his friends side, looking to Ray for an answer.

"The flightless halfwit caught the attention of a neighborhood hussy. I had to save his ass before she made him her next victim." Joel took charge of the explanation. "You should be thanking me. From what I heard, you don't swing that way." 

To Joel, sexual preference wasn't a big deal, but to the Heaven dwellers it was a huge concern. The perfectly pure bird brains thought that unless your bits fit together like "God intended" then your choices were wrong. If you swung the other way then you were a filthy sinner. The idea made Joel want to laugh. He was an Incubus; he swung every way. As long as it was sex, then he was interested.

But his comment did exactly what it was meant to do. Ray deflated, eyes glazing over with a bevy of emotions raging from anger to sorrow. Michael threw a glare at Joel before turning to Ray.

"Is that where you got that scratch?" He asked, pointing to the other mans cheek.

Ray's fingers instinctively went up to the marred skin, wincing as he made contact with the wound. "I don't think she meant to do it. She sort of stumbled and scratched me." He waved his hand in the air in a half hearted attempt to dismiss any further discussion.

"Next question." Michael's gaze settled on Joel. "What did you do?"

Joel shrugged. "I took care of it. I wasn't allowed to have any fun, so why should he when he wouldn't even like it." He threw Ray a look which suggested he found the very idea of not enjoying sex to be appalling.

"You didn't mess her up too much, right?" Gavin's eyes turned pleadingly to the older Demon.

Joel released an exasperated sigh. "No, I just filled her head with harmless, hollow memories and sent her on her way."

"That's all?" Gavin raised an eye brow.

"If I did more than that, I wouldn't be running on empty." Joel snarled through gritted teeth. "Now, can we stop the inquisition and get going?"

No one spoke for a very long, very tense minute. Michael was still looking at his friend with concern in his eyes, Ray was staring at the floor boards between his feet, and Gavin's gaze was shifting uneasily between a still angry Joel and the Angels.

Gavin sucked in a deep breath, the sound breaking the silence. "Alright, let's go."

Joel turned without another word and strode out of the room, leaving the door open behind him. The others gave the room a final once over to be sure they hadn't forgotten anything before following him.

They left the small village behind, eager to shed the memories still lingering in the air. There was a short, winding dirt road leading into yet another forest. It seemed most of their trip would be spent surrounded by trees.

The first leg of the trip passed in strained silence, only the barest comments thrown at unwilling participants served as conversation. Gavin tried and failed on multiple occasions to drum up an interesting topic so that the sounds of the wilderness didn't seem quite so loud. Michael and Ray's hushed exchanges didn't carry to the Demon's ears, so every snapping branch and scampering creature seemed like it had been amplified.

It was already past mid-day by the time the woods began to thin, the greenish light filtering through the canopy of leaves gave way to a warm, yellow glow. Set almost picturesquely in a small clearing was what could only be described as a cottage. Ivy climbed the exterior walls which might have once been the color of cream, but were now closer to brown due to their liberal coating of dirt. The windows were dingy but still allowed light to pour through their panes. Thick, grey smoke billowed from the chimney stack set atop a terracotta shingled roof.

"This is new." Joel mumbled, eyes scanning every inch of the cottage in search of possible danger. "It wasn't here last time."

Gavin had almost forgotten that Joel had traveled this path once before. He had been so caught up in the recent drama that they had fallen into that their current objective had shifted to the back of his mind. He wanted to smack himself for letting the entire mission become so inconsequential to him.

"Do you think anyone's home?" Gavin asked, squinting to try and discern any moving shapes beyond the grime coated windows.

"The lights are on." Joel shrugged and walked down the broken cobblestone path towards the front door.

He raised a closed fist and rapped his knuckles across the wood of the door. It swung open after a few seconds and Joel took a step back.

"Joel! I gotta say, you were the last person I was expecting." The man who stood in the doorway greeted Joel with familiarity.

"Burnie?" Uncertainty colored the Demon's voice as he eyed the man speculatively.

"Yeah. Man, I really was not expecting to see you again." The man whom Joel had called Burnie, stepped aside to grant the small group entrance.

They shuffled in one after the other, Michael lingering on the threshold for a moment, unsure of if he wanted to proceed. But Ray was already following Gavin in, and Michael couldn't very well leave Ray with all these Demon's.

The interior of the cottage was decorated sparsely, with only a wooden table surrounded by 4 chairs, a bed in the far corner, a large couch, an armchair, and a thread bare rug. There was a small cupboard and a sink against one wall and a bookshelf on another, but other than that, there seemed to be nothing else in the small house.

The flames in the impressive stone fireplace crackled as they consumed the wood. As Burnie neared the fireplace, the flames swayed toward him, tongues of fire licking the air just beyond their confines as if they were trying to reach the man.

"I got to say, Joel, I figured you'd be dead by now. Or at least locked up." Burnie leaned against the mantle piece casually.

All eyes, except for Joel's and Burnie's, fell to the fire which was now curling around Burnie's ankles and calves in flickering tendrils, winding around him almost affectionately. 

It was considered rude to ask a Demon their classification or species, but the question was on the tip of Gavin's tongue before Joel interrupted him.

"Xaphan." Joel supplied helpfully, knowing what Gavin was going to ask.

The young Demon closed his mouth with an audible clack of teeth. Xaphan wasn't a demonic classification or type of demon, it was a name. Xaphan was the keeper of Hell's furnace; a fire Demon whose powers surpassed even those of the best elemental.

"It has been a really long time since someone called me that." Burnie, or Xaphan, or whoever he was, said with a twist of his lips that could either be a smirk or a grimace.

"What are you doing in the middle of no where? I thought you were supposed to be frying sinners in the pit?" Joel paid no attention the flames which were now snaking around Burnie's waist.

Burnie shrugged as a tongue of fire wrapped itself around his hand, winding between his fingers like an ethereal serpent. "I do. It just gets boring." He nodded towards the corner of the house that contained no furniture or clutter. "I have a portal connected directly to the under belly."

Set into the floor boards was a square door adorned with only a rope handle. There was nothing spectacular about the door itself, but Gavin shuddered at the sight of it. Beyond those flimsy wooden boards was a portal to the deepest pits of Hell where the worst of the worst went to burn for all eternity.

Burnie ran a hand through his dark curls, the fire moving through the strands like glowing water. "So what are you doing all the way out here?"

Joel's shoulders slumped almost imperceptibly. Shutters slammed into place in his dark eyes, shielding any emotion he may be feeling.

"The Elders sent me to retrieve a Cambion." His voice was level and calm.

"A Cambion? Or your Cambion?" Burnie asked, his brows inching towards his hairline.

A muscle in Joel's jaw twitched. "Mine." He ground out, as if the confession was sharp his throat.

Burnie barked out a laugh, smiling eyes reflecting the fire which seemed so keen on twisting around him. "Damn, Joel. You have a kid? You? Why?"

"It wasn't exactly planned. I was-- Careless." Every word that he spat out was like another curse.

"You were careless." Burnie deadpanned. "You mean you found a pretty girl and didn't plan ahead. She must have been a beauty for you to forget the one thing that people have been telling you since you were a kid."

"Yes, thank you, Burnie. I understand how stupid I was. Believe me, I've had time to dwell on my bad choices." Joel didn't shout but the tone of voice he used implied that he would very much like to.

Burnie shook his head, amused by the entire situation. "And your traveling buddies? I mean, I understand the Eph, the Elders probably made him tag along. But, Joel, an Angel? And a..." He trailed off, his eyes giving Ray a once over. "Human?" He guessed.

"Flightless bird." Joel smirked cruelly, obviously getting a kick out of humiliating Ray every chance he got. "I didn't bring them along, he did." He nodded towards where Gavin stood. 

Burnie nodded in semi-feigned understanding. "So where is your spawn?"

"Tavinia. I figure we'll make it there in two more days if these idiots don't do anything too stupid." Joel's shoulders relaxed slightly, but the tension still remained coiled within his tight muscles.

"And if you don't run into anyone on the way. I know a few unsavory characters inhabit the woods between here and Tavinia." Burnie and Joel shared a knowing look. "Well, I know it's only mid-day, but you should stay here for the night. You'll want the sun on your side for the next part of your trip."

Joel opened his mouth to argue but shut it quickly and nodded. 

Burnie clapped his hands together in front of him, a smile lighting his face. "Great! We could use the time to catch up. I'm dying to know what's been going on back at the Camp. You all make yourselves at home and I'll get you something to drink." He made his way over to the cupboard and rummaged through it.

Joel took the arm chair and Gavin plopped down on the end of the couch. Michael seated himself on one of the wooden chairs at the small table. Ray was torn between a seat by the warm fire and one by his friend. The look Michael gave him made up his mind for him and he dropped down onto one of the chairs. 

Burnie returned with a bottle of amber liquid and five glasses. He filled each cup and handed them out. Only Michael hesitated, staring at the contents of the glass with disgust. 

"Come on, don't be rude. It's just bourbon." Burnie reprimanded the Angel's less than polite behavior.

Grudgingly, Michael accepted the glass but didn't take a drink. Burnie returned to his place by the fire place and squatted like he was going to sit in an invisible chair. The flames, which had returned to the fireplace when Burnie had gone to retrieve the drinks, darted from the hearth and gathered beneath Burnie. They danced over the floorboards and moved around until they had formed a chair of undulating oranges and reds. 

"So," Burnie began, crossing his legs casually as if he hadn't just created furniture from fire. "What's happened since I left home?"


	10. Chapter 10

They say it takes a village to raise a child, and they may be right. As far as Joel could tell, the children he was traveling with would need a village to get them in to shape. They were a melting pot of loud and obnoxious behaviorisms, every last one of which got on his every damn nerve. 

Michael was loud. Never backing down and throwing out insults whenever they found themselves on his tongue. Gavin was obnoxious. Posing questions that made little to no sense and answering them himself with the most stupid things Joel had ever heard. And Ray was... Well, Ray was infuriating. 

Though he talked much less than the other two, every word out of his mouth got under Joel's skin. After he had tried to help the ungrateful kid, he thought maybe the irritating quips which he doled out so casually would decrease in their frequency. But, no such luck was to be had. If anything, it was worse than before. Now, even the simplest of comments had the ability to rub Joel the wrong way.

Like when Ray had asked Gavin how much further he thought they had to travel, Joel had turned around and snapped out something along the lines of "we'll get there when we get there". Or when Ray had offered to collect fire wood the night after they'd left Burnie's. There was nothing inherently offending about the words, but still, Joel had barked out a harsh "you'd only get lost" before storming off to do it himself.

But the thing that was making Joel angriest was the fact that he couldn't stop staring at the kid. Whether they were gathered around the fire or were on separate sides of the foot worn path they were traveling, his eyes always found their way to the younger man. 

There was nothing exceptional or extraordinary about him in the least. He was passably attractive with a lean build supporting very little muscle mass, dark eyes behind glasses, and a mess of dark hair. All in all he was not the type to draw attention to himself, least of all the kind of attention Joel was giving him.  
And that was what drove him crazy. Joel didn't want to think about Ray. He didn't want to think about how soft his hair looked when a breeze ruffled it, or how the sun set lent a golden tone to his skin. He didn't want to think a goddamn thing about the fallen Angel, yet his mind would not stop generating the unwanted thoughts, even when they frustrated him to no end.

Not since his wild days of youth had Joel had such little control over his feelings. Being an Incubus had given him certain qualities which attracted those he wanted to attract, so wanting someone had never been an issue. An Incubus wasn't, however, given the attributes necessary to attract the attention of an Angel, fallen or otherwise.   
Not that he wanted to attract any Angel's attention. He just wanted to get over his growing infatuation with the flightless bird. Even in his mind the insult didn't seem as venomous as it should have. Frustration welled within his chest, yet he still couldn't push all of the intrusive thoughts from his mind. He felt the need to hit something, preferably something that would hit back so he had some way to expel all of this pointless energy.

In his mind everything came back to his recent unintentional abstinence. Sexual energy fueled everything he did, and abstaining from sex was like going days without food. He was weaker than ever and it was driving him mad.

Maybe physical violence wasn't what he needed, maybe what he really needed was a good, old fashioned fuck. Maybe in the next town he could pick up some girl and fuck her until she forgot her own name, and then maybe he could forget the name that kept popping up in his mind.  
Joel spent the next few hours devising a plan of action. They'd be in Tavinia soon, and he'd get a room for the night and leave his traveling party there. Then, he'd go out and find   
some girl and vent all of the pent up sexual frustration that had been building over the past few days.

He had everything planned out perfectly. So, later that night, when they had finally reached the outskirts of Tavinia and secured a room, Joel made some excuse about scoping out the place. It surprised everyone when a voice stopped him before he could get out the door.

"I'll come, too. Two sets of eyes are better than one." Ray pushed past Joel into the hallway and gave him an expectant look.

"I really don't think that's necessary." Joel clenched his fists by his sides to keep from forcibly shoving the kid back into the room.

Ray shrugged. "I think it is."

With an exasperated sigh, Joel shouldered past the other man and made his way out of the inn. He figured he could lose Ray somewhere in the streets, he could maneuver around this little hitch in his plan easily.

It took fifteen minutes for Joel to realize that, no, he could not easily ditch Ray. The younger man followed closely behind him, weaving between the other people who walked the dirt streets which crisscrossed Tavinia.

Each step he took with Ray still tagging along only served to stir the simmering pot of his anger. Eventually he couldn't take it, and the pot boiled over, unleashing his rage in the form of a snarl and spin towards his unwanted shadow.

"Why the hell are you still following me?" Joel hissed menacingly, taking a step forward.

Ray stared up at him unblinkingly, face clear of emotion. "I already told you. You were going to scope out the streets and the more eyes there are, the better chance there is of noticing something out of place."

"Can you not take a hint? I have been trying to get rid of you since we left the inn, but it appears as though you are too stupid to notice when you're not wanted." Joel spat the insults but couldn't muster quite enough malice to make them truly hurtful.

"I noticed. I've been following to make sure you didn't do anything stupid. Or would you rather it be Gavin who followed you? You didn't look so good after he stopped you last time." Ray held his ground, refusing to show fear in the face of the snarling Demon.

"You little--" Joel couldn't even finish the thought; he saw red.

His hands shot out and fisted the material of Ray's shirt, tugging him until the smaller mans feet were nearly lifted off of the ground. The action almost brought them nose to nose, their hot, angry breath clashing in the small space separating them. They were so close in that moment that Joel was sure Ray could feel the almost animalistic growl which rumbled within his chest.

Both men stood silently staring each other down, waiting to see who broke first. Joel counted the silent seconds, twelve in all, before, with bruising force, his lips found Ray's.


	11. Chapter 11

Do you know how when you stand up too fast sometimes you get dizzy and the world sort of blurs together? Well, that was happening to Ray even though he was standing completely still. He had been breathing his whole life, just like any other living being, but suddenly he forgot how to do even the most basic of functions. It might have something to do with the fact that Joel currently had a death grip on his shirt and his lips were crushed against Ray’s.  
Fire burned its way under his skin, heating his blood. Black spots danced in front of his wide eyes and he felt himself tilting. Joel’s fists unclenched and Ray lost the only thing that had been holding him upright. He stumbled back, his hands moving to rub at his eyes. He drew in a breath so deep that his lungs ached with the pressure.

When he released the breath it felt like he was pushing out the calm silence he had learned to maintain over the years, leaving behind only the confused and shaking boy he had once been. He stared down at his trembling fingers for a moment before quickly lacing them together in an attempt to hide his involuntary movements.

The thundering pulse in his ears slowed, no longer masking the sounds around him. The first thing he picked up on was the sound of panting close by. His eyes slowly lifted until they found Joel.

The Demon’s shoulders were heaving with the great pants of air he was dragging in and expelling. Ray had never seen him look so out of control. The eyes which normally were a dark brown, were now lit from within, the iris’ turning crimson and gaining a wild gleam. Every inch of his skin that was not covered in swirling black marks emitted a faint golden glow, not enough to draw attention but Ray noticed it all the same.

"Why did you do that?" Ray had so hoped his voice would come out strong and steady, but the words were barely a whisper.

"Do what? Kiss you? Are you objecting?" The fact that Joel hadn’t answered the question didn’t escape Ray’s notice.

Was he objecting? He supposed it was all circumstantial. Did he dislike the kiss? No, definitely not. Was he suspicious of Joel’s motives, therefore diminishing his enjoyment of the kiss? Yes.

He wasn’t sure which would be worse, lying to Joel and saying that he had hated the kiss, knowing full well he hadn’t. Or telling him the truth, that he had loved the kiss but was scared about what it meant. So instead of answering he simply crossed his arms, pinning his shaking hands to his sides and shrugged his shoulders

"I didn’t hear a no." Joel took one slow step forward, giving Ray more than enough time to scramble away with his tail between his legs; but he didn’t move an inch.

By the time Joel was close enough that their chests touched every time one of them inhaled too deeply, Ray had to tilt his head back to maintain eye contact. Joel’s tongue snaked out to wet his lips and Ray could not stop himself from following the flash of movement.

Ray felt the need to clear his throat or speak or scream, anything to break the heavy silence that was weighing on them. But as luck would have it, he didn’t need to say a thing. It seemed Joel had the same idea.

"This time, you won’t be able to shrug your way out of an answer because this time you have every chance in the world to walk away." Joel’s voice was low and husky and sent shivers all the way down the younger man’s spine.

The phrase ‘this time’ bounced around Ray’s skull, making far too much noise for such little words. This time meant that Joel was going to kiss him again and there would be no way to shrug it off because he could stop it from happening if he wanted to.

Step back. Pull away. Turn around and run back to the inn where there are people to stop you from doing something so stupid.

His body protested the thoughts by locking up, every muscle going rigid and refusing to move. He swallowed hard, the muscles in his throat tightening against the action. He didn’t know if he was grateful or angry that his body had decided to take matters into its own hands.

Measuring the silence by the thumping of his erratic pulse, it felt like an eternity before Joel made any sort of move to show that he intended to carry through with his previous statement. He lowered his head until his mouth with milometers from Ray’s, teasing his lips with warm puffs of air.

The self-induced paralyzation rendered him useless in that moment. Even if he had wanted to pull away he was incapable of doing so. It was in that thought that he found he didn’t want to move away. He wanted this. He wanted to kiss Joel and forget, for however temporarily it may be, that he had lost everything. He wanted to be normal again, or as close as it was possible to be for an Angel who had lost his wings.

It was that line of thinking that led him to become desperate for the contact he had been promised. As if Joel sensed it, he closed what little distance there was left between them.

This kiss was so unlike the one before that, for a moment, Ray was sure he was kissing someone else. It was a gentle press of lips, almost chaste in its innocence. At least it was innocent until Ray’s back hit the wall behind him. He had never been so thankful for dark alleys in his life. No one would be able to see them unless they walked down the alley, which seemed unlikely since they had been there for almost thirty minutes and hadn’t seen a soul.

The moment he hit the wall the gentle pressure turned into a fierce, desperate crush of lips. His body chose that moment to unlock, returning control of his muscles. He seized the opportunity to raise his arms and wind them around Joel’s neck, making it so the Demon couldn’t pull away. Not that he was showing any inclination to do so.

Joel’s hands gripped Ray’s waist, fingers digging in a little too hard, but Ray couldn’t make himself care. Everywhere they touched burned in the best possible ways. Joel’s hands set sparks dancing in his stomach, his lips seared his skin as they trailed across his jaw line and down his throat. Ray’s eyes closed and his head fell back against the wall.

When Joel raked his teeth across the delicate skin where neck met shoulder, Ray whimpered in a way that should have embarrassed him. But, once again, the pros of the distraction far outweighed the consequences.

"If you keep making those noises, I’m going to fuck you in this alley and I am positive you are not ready for that." Joel muttered absently against the crook of Ray’s neck, more as if he were talking to himself than to Ray.

Ray bit down on his lower lip in an attempt to silence the breathy whines that each scrape of teeth elicited. He didn’t know what Joel was saying. Right about then with the way Joel was touching him, he was pretty sure he was ready for anything he suggested.

It wasn’t until Ray opened his eyes that he saw that the faint glow which had been shining from Joel’s skin had brightened considerably. 

Transfixed, Ray stared at the steadily increasing glow which seemed brightest around Joel’s heart. He looked more like an Angel than a Demon, golden and lit up from the inside.

Then, the realization hit him like a ton of bricks. He planted his hands firmly on Joel’s chest and shoved as hard as he could. The Demon stumbled back, unprepared for the sudden force. A confused look settled on his features before being replaced by cold indifference.

"You’re using me." Ray’s voice was void of the anger he had expected to be there, instead he just sounded sad and tired. When Joel didn’t deny it, Ray shook his head and a humorless laugh pushed its way out of his mouth. "I should have known. You’re an Incubus and i’m a fallen Angel, of course you were using me."

"What’d you expect? Love? As you pointed out, I’m an Incubus, a Demon. Love is not high on my to do list.” The anger that Ray lacked had found its home in Joel’s voice.

"Of course I didn’t expect love! Love is not something that grows from insults and hatred over a few days. I just didn’t realize you’d stoop so low as to try to get your fix from me.” Disbelief coated each word he forced past his tight throat.

It was the truth, he hadn’t expected love at all. He had felt love before, he knew what being in love was like and he certainly wasn’t in love with Joel. But he’d be lying if he said he didn’t have some sort of twisted affection for him and secretly hoped it would be returned.

"You were the one following me. You prevented me from finding "a fix" elsewhere." Joel wrapped the words in air quotes, showing how strongly he disagreed with the terminology.

"You’re going to blame me because you were to weak to resist the nearest thing with a pulse?" As soon as he spoke them he regretted the words, it was never a good idea to provoke an angry Demon, especially one as powerful as Joel.

He was right. The anger melted into a look of pure fury. Joel’s jaw clenched and a muscle stood out under the skin. Faster than he could avoid it, Joel shoved Ray back against the wall, snapping his head back against the brick. Ray tried to blink away the stars now dancing in his field of vision, but they soon became the least of his worries.

Joel’s hand closed around Ray’s throat, effectively cutting off his air supply. “Too weak?” Joel smirked and flexed his fingers around the column of Ray’s neck. “Weak is giving in to a Demon without a fight. Weak is hoping that anyone would ever love someone as pathetic as you.” Every word hit closer to home than the one before.

Ray wasn’t sure what he’d say even if he could speak, but with Joel’s hand still wrapped around his throat speaking wasn’t an option. Besides, he was right. Ray was weak. He had always been weak. Tears brimmed his eyes and he hated himself more in that moment than he had ever hated himself before.

He would not cry in front Joel; he would not cry because of Joel.

But, as much as he wanted to, he couldn’t stop it from happening. Hot tears streaked down his cheeks, leaving wet trails in their wake. Joel scoffed in disgust and released him, giving him back the ability to breath.

"You were the one who was kissing someone as pathetic as me. What does that make you?" Ray growled, the bruises which would later ring his throat were already tender when he spoke.

For a moment, it looked as though Joel was going to respond. But with a sneer he turned and stalked away, leaving Ray to find his way back to inn by himself.


	12. Chapter 12

Gavin was never the type of person to sit in silence. Dan used to say he had more energy in him than Samuel, who had been the best lightening elemental in the camp. It wasn’t a far stretch to call Gavin overly hyper. His parents had expected him to grow out of it, but he never had. Sometimes he wished he had lived up to his parents expectations, but there was no use dwelling on what he could not change. That being said, he thought he was doing extraordinarily well at sitting quietly in the small room they had procured for the night.   
Michael was stretched out on the bed Gavin had not taken. He laid on his stomach, wings blanketing him from shoulders to the backs of his knees. His eyes were closed but Gavin could not tell if he was asleep or not.

"If I plucked all of your feathers out, would your wings look like chicken wings?" Gavin asked, imagining the large wings bare of feathers made him have to stifle a laugh behind his hand.

Michael cracked open his eyes and glared across the the small stretch of floor separating them. He closed his eyes again and turned his head away from Gavin, but that didn’t deter the young Demon.

"Can you fly?" He had wanted to ask that since he had first saw the Angel’s wings sparking with fire in the sunlight. "Cause I’ve seen picture of Angel’s flying. Though none of their wings were as big as yours. Is that some sort of status symbol, bigger wings? You know, big wings mean a big-"

"Gavin!" Michael twisted around and sat up to glare fully at the Demon. "Shut the fuck up."

Gavin blinked at him silently for a second. “Well?”

"Well what?" Michael demanded harshly.

"Can you fly?" Gavin looked at the Angel as though he were stupid.

"No. Well, kind of. Why do you care, anyway?" A skeptical look flashed across Michael’s face.

Gavin shrugged. “M’Just curious, is all. I mean, most other things with wings can fly. And what’s the point in having wings if you can’t fly? So you can fly, right. Because it was sort of a yes or no question, so I gained no information from ‘kind of’.” Gavin spoke faster with each word that spilled from his lips.

He hadn’t had a full conversation in so long. He talked with Ray enough, but there were things he felt weird asking Ray about, plus the other man was always around Michael who tended to glare at Gavin. Just like he was doing now.

"It’s not like I can just flap my wings and fly away, do you have any idea how much muscle power that would take? Angels’ can sort of glide. Sometimes younger Angels’ jump off cliffs and glide to the ground. They get in trouble but it’s worth it." Michael explained, though he looked like he’d rather not.

"Did you ever do that?" Gavin gave Michael all of his attention; if the Angel was willing to talk, he was more than willing to listen.

"Yeah. I almost broke my leg and my mom was furious, you know how mothers are. But it was worth all the yelling." Michael’s lips tilted in the barest of smiles at the memory.

"No." Gavin looked down at his hands which he had clasped in his lap.

"No what?" Michael raised an eyebrow.

"No, I don’t know how mothers are. I know how my mother was, but from what I’ve heard, my mother wasn’t like most. Most mothers, from the stories other people have told me, actually acknowledge they have a child." Even spouting such sad truths, Gavin didn’t lose his happy exterior.

Michael opened his mouth but had no witty response or answer. What was one supposed to say to someone else’s proclamation of what amounted to childhood abandonment.

Gavin shrugged and smiled. “Both my parents were a bit mental. Or it might have been me, I never was sure of which one of us was the weird one.”

Gavin was sure. He knew he was the weird one, the broken one. His parents had shut him away and only spoken to him when necessary because there was something wrong with him, not them.

Michael was still staring at him like he had just sprouted mushrooms from his ears. “Well..” He said, trailing off before even starting a new thought. ”I’m going to sleep.” He turned away abruptly and faced the wall, tugging the blankets up to his waist.

Gavin supposed he should have planned on Michael showing no interest in anything about him. He wasn’t interesting, after all. But it hurt all the same when he literally turned his back on what Gavin had thought to be an intriguing conversation.

With nothing else to do, Gavin laid down on top of the blanket and stared at the ceiling, not tired enough to sleep.

 

Gavin had never been around enough people to understand what sexual tension was, but if he had to hazard a guess, he would say it was something like the heat between Joel and Ray that everyone else refused to acknowledge. Or at least it was like the heat that was between them before they both went out to scope the town. When Ray walked back in to the room without Joel, Gavin knew something had gone wrong.

"Where’s Joel?" He asked, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and getting to feet.

Ray wouldn’t meet his eyes. “Busy.” He climbed on to the bed Gavin had just vacated and pulled the blanket over his head.

Gavin looked over at Michael who had sat up in his own bed when Ray had come in, clearly not asleep as he had been pretending to be. Michael was staring at his friend who was now only a vaguely human shaped lump under the blanket.

Since both beds were now taken, Gavin stationed himself in one of the arm chairs which book ended the low table in front of a shabby fireplace. It was almost two hours later when Joel returned to the room, reeking of alcohol and a distinctly feminine perfume.

Gavin was about to stand up and pull Joel over to the empty chair because the older Demon looked about ready to fall over. But Joel stumbled his way over to the bed where Ray lay hidden under the blanket and flopped onto it.

If Ray was asleep than he must sleep like the dead because the bounce of the bed didn’t seem to disturb him one bit. Joel kicked off his shoes and fumbled around until he was under the blanket.

Gavin watched for about two minutes, until Joel’s breathing became slow and deep with the influence of sleep. The room fell prey to quiet once more, tired breaths and crackling fire chorused in the dark. It was to that lullaby that Gavin finally drifted to sleep.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***Note: I know it’s been very heavily Joelay recently, but the story is far from over! The Mavin story line is a little ways away, so be patient!***

The phrase "the early bird gets the worm" could go fuck itself with a flaming sword. That was the first to run through Ray's head when he opened his eyes to find the room illuminated by pre-dawn light. Dust motes danced in the shafts of sunlight streaming through the threadbare curtains.

No one should ever wake up this early. Ray thought to himself, yawning as he reached up to rub the sleep from his eyes.

The quiet was thick in the way only sleepy mornings could make it, the kind of quiet that felt like cotton in your ears. It was peaceful, but it was still too early for any decent sort of person to be awake.

As the cobwebs of sleep began to clear Ray slowly became aware of the weight which rested on his hip and the heat which made his back from feeling the cool of the early morning. He tilted his head slightly to get a glimpse of what was holding him... And almost choked.

There was an arm slung lazily around his waist, but that in itself wasn't what caused the breath to hitch in his throat. The shoulder that was attached to the arm was inked by dark lines which swirled their way up a perfectly sloped neck to a chiseled jaw. Joel.

Ray, with wide eyes, tried to edge away but with a sleep drunk mumble, Joel tightened his hold and pulled him closer. Ray's back curved to fit the contours of Joel's muscled chest, the warmth bleeding through the thin layers of shirts separating them.

He held his breath until he his was dizzy with the effort, but inhaling meant taking the situation to a whole new level. When at last his lungs screamed too much for him to carry on, he exhaled sharply and quickly inhaled. The scents which assaulted his nose were a jumbled mess of familiar and strange.

The stench of alcohol was prominent, sticking to the air and burning his nostrils, beneath that was the cloying, pervasive odor of perfume that could only have been worn by a woman. And underneath it all was the musky, spicy scent that was unmistakably Joel.

Ray pinched his arm as hard as he could with one hand and used the other to muffle the yelp he knew it would cause. He knew he wasn't dreaming, but he had to test it. He couldn't have imagined the exquisite weight and myriad of smells that clouded the air.

His head fit perfectly into the curve of Joel's neck, Ray's hair brushing his stubble covered jaw. For a few blissful moments it seemed plausible. Joel holding him and nuzzling his nose against the crown of Ray's head. It was a beautiful possibility for the time it took his head to catch up with his heart.

All of the memories of how horribly Joel had treated him just hours ago came crashing down over him like a torrent of ice water. He had used him. Pushed him up against a wall and made his skin burn all in the name of power. He was a complete asshole. But it was impossible to make Ray's dick understand simple logic.

Joel's hand, which had made its way to Ray's stomach, sent shivers through him. His fingers skimmed over the trail of dark hair that disappeared into Ray's pants. The second his fingertips brushed the waistband of Ray’s pants, he knew he had to put a stop to whatever was happening.

Ray pried the wandering appendage off but Joel murmured in protest and tried to resume his groping. Never in his life had Ray once thought he’d have to fend off a concupiscent Incubus, the reality of the situation made him want to laugh.

Once more, Ray lifted Joel’s hand, but this time he quickly slid to the edge of the bed, narrowly dodging the Demon’s searching hand. Safely on his feet, Ray breathed out a sigh, not sure if he was relieved to be out of the other man’s grasp or if he missed the intimacy, not matter how false it may have been.

Without the intoxication of Joel’s touch to distract him, his head began to clear, his senses returning the farther away he got. He walked out the door of the little room and out of the inn, the early morning air pleasantly cool against his too hot skin.

He didn’t know how long he stood there, basking in the glow of the sunrise, but the next thing he was aware of was the sound of footsteps crunching gravel behind him. He turned slowly, his heart beginning a steadily growing tattoo. Not sure why he expected it, he found himself unsurprised to see Joel looming over him, orange and gold light casting wickedly sharp shadows in the contours of his face.

“Are you running away? Finally get too scared?” Joel’s tone held no malice, but by no means was it friendly.

“What do I have to be scared of?” Ray lifted his chin to look the Demon straight in the eye.

“Last time I checked, you were running away from me.” A taunting gleam sparked in Joel’s eyes, baiting Ray.

“I’m not scared of you, I just think you’re an asshole. Besides, I didn’t run from you. If my memory serves me correctly you were the one who ran from me.” Ray crossed his arms defiantly.

Joel made a sound of disgust in the back of his throat. “Me? Run from you? Why would I run from a flightless bird? You can’t do anything to me.” It was true; comparing Ray and Joel was like comparing a puppy to a wolf.

“Maybe not in the way you’re thinking, but I do have something to hold over you. You want something from me, unless that was a dagger pressed against my ass this morning.” Ray tilted his chin a little higher, proud of himself for not cowering.

“Don’t lie yourself. It’s not me doing the wanting, kid.” Joel mimicked Ray’s stance, crossing his arms across his chest.

“Well, it seems we both want something we’re never going to get.” Ray stressed never, making sure he got his point across.

It seemed to be the wrong thing to say. Joel put his a hand on either side of Ray’s face, their eyes meeting. The moment scorched the air between them, heat seeping into their skin. A hot, tingling sensation danced up Ray’s spine, a shiver shaking his body. A sudden weight shifted him, tilting him backwards.

Joel grabbed his hands to steady him, never breaking eye contact. Ray twisted his head to look behind him, but whatever he had been expecting to see left his mind as soon as feathers consumed his vision.

His wings. Sprouting from his back where there were once smooth, parallel scars, were two shining brown wings. The bottom feathers brushed his thighs, a familiar feeling that had his head spinning.

When he turned back to Joel, the Demon was smiling. He leaned forward and rested his forehead against the younger mans. For two heart beats, Ray let himself believe that this was real. That Joel was holding him and that his wings were never gone. He let himself believe that he could be happy.

Then the moment ended, crumbling like a cookie in milk. Joel’s fingers dug into the soft skin of Ray’s face, leaving the pain that only bruises could produce. His hands slid around to cup the back of his head. He pulled it forcefully towards him, stopping when their lips were mere centimeters apart.

“I am the only one who can do this. Who can give you back what you want. You could search the entire world and never have this back.” One of Joel’s hands slid across Ray’s shoulders, his fingers tugging on one of the dark feathers.

Ray tried to wrench his face free but Joel held on tightly, eyes flashing dangerously crimson. Ray’s legs trembled beneath him, threatening to give way. The hand that had been pulling on his feathers dropped to his hip.

“Without me, you’re nothing but a pathetic human.” Joel spat the word like it left a foul taste in his mouth.

“News flash, Joel. I am human. I may have been born an Angel, but they ripped off my wings and yanked out every ounce of power that made me anything more than human.” With a tremendous effort, he pulled himself free.

The moment Joel’s hands were no longer on him the weight of his wings, along with the last vestiges of hope that they might be real, vanished. He was left as he always was; cold and wingless.

A sneer curled Joel’s lips. “You really are pathetic.”

Ray wanted to lift his head and square his shoulders, but the icy, crushing pain in his chest was making it hard to breathe. Instead of walking away proudly, he stumbled away, clutching his chest and fighting back tears until Joel could no longer see him. The moment he rounded the corner of the fourth building he passed, he collapsed to his knees.

Tears clogged his throat, his sobs choking him. Never in his life had he felt so broken. So worthless. So human.


	14. Chapter 14

Michael Jones lived by a set of poorly defined rules. Among them were things like: protect those who you consider friends, never back down from a fight, and Demons are always evil. That last rule he was having a hard time sticking with of late. 

It was hard to remember that every Demon was the spawn of Satan when one of them sat on a bed across from you spouting off stupid questions. It was hard to remember Gavin was evil when he smiled at Michael like they had been friends forever.

Then again, it was a lot easier to remember Demon's were evil when he woke up to see Ray huddled in the corner, shaking. Without giving his sleep addled brain time to process the situation, Michael slid out of his bed and onto the floor beside his best friend.

"What happened?" He asked, laying a hand gently on Ray's arm.

Big brown, tear glazed eyes looked up at him, a sudden flash of lightening making them glow. Pain was etched into Ray's features, carving frown lines like parenthesis around his mouth. Although he wasn't crying anymore, the evidence of tears still lingered in the faint tracks running down his cheeks and the puffy redness around his eyes.

"Nothing." Ray's voice was scarcely above a whisper, the end of the word was swallowed by a crack of thunder, and he shook his head slowly.

Michael's eyes moved to the small window on the other side of the room. Rain was pelting the glass pane with unrelenting force. He'd seen a storm like this before but it had been conjured. There was no way this one could have been summoned given the circumstances.

"I'm going to call bullshit on that. You don't act like this over nothing."

Ray gave a watery smile like he always did when he didn't want Michael to worry. "It's just-" He waved his hand in the air in a vague encompassing gesture. "Everything. This trip. Joel. Me."

"Wait, go back. Joel? I know the guy's a total ass but what has he done to make to so upset? Usually you just brush him off."

Ray's shoulders stiffened and his hands curled into tight fists. "He gave me my wings back."

Michael stared, open mouthed, at his friend, the words not settling long enough mean anything. "He gave you-- What?"

"He used his power and made it seem like I had wings again. Then he took them away." Ray's voice cracked part way through the sentence.

"That son of a bitch." Michael clenched his jaw hard enough that the muscles ached.

Of course, he knew that Joel was the very definition of Demon scum, but that didn't stop him from feeling somehow let down. Like they should have had some sort of unspoken agreement. He'd be an angry jerk and Joel would be a heartless dick, but they didn't raise a hand to each other. They didn't fight, physically at least.

Michael's mind flashed back to his mental list of rules. Protect those you consider friends. Ray was his best friend, so what hurt Ray hurt him, too. Joel was now on the very top of his shit list.

But for now, he had to help Ray. "Come on. You look like you could use some sleep." Without waiting for any form of acknowledgment, Michael hoisted Ray to his feet and guided him to the empty bed.

He was just tugging the cover over Ray, who had pulled his knees up to make himself as small as possible, when the door opened behind him. Michael turned slowly, already feeling the fury boiling within him.

Joel closed the door behind him, looking angry, wet, and thoroughly wind swept. "Fucking storm came out of fucking no where." He mumbled heatedly under his breath.

In that moment, Michael saw red. He charged Joel like a bull, fist raised and swinging when he got within arms reach. His fist connected with the Demon's jaw, making the taller man take a stumbling step backwards.

Joel cupped his jaw, more out of shock than out of pain, eyes going wide. "What the hell was that for?"

Michael barked out a humorless laugh. "Are you serious? You've had that coming for a while."

"Okay, may I ask why you felt the need to do that now?" Joel opened and closed his mouth, stretching the muscles in his jaw.

"Would you like me to go down the list? One," Michael lifted a finger to keep count. "You're a Demon, that's reason enough to hit you. Two," another finger went up. "You are an asshole. I have never heard you say a single tolerable thing or seen you do anything that could be considered nice in the slightest sense. Three," he didn't add a third finger, instead he jabbed his thumb behind him.

Joel's eyes drifted to what he was pointing at. Ray's head was barely visible under the top of the blanket, just a mess of dark hair and a strip of skin at the top of his forehead.

"Oh." Joel said, a malicious sort of understanding lighting up his eyes. "Do you always get your boyfriend to fight your battles for you, Sine Pinnis?" A clap of thunder rattled the window as soon as the words left his mouth.

In itself, the insult didn't seem all that bad. Simply translated it meant "without wings" in Latin. But it was the deeper meaning that made the words so horrible. Sine Pinnis had been what the other Angels had called Lucifer when he had been cast from Heaven. It was considered the worst thing you could call a fallen Angel.

"You see?" Michael snarled. "This is why you deserve to be punched."

"What are you guys shouting about?" Gavin yawned, sitting up in his bed and rubbing sleepily at his eyes.

Michael was the only one to spare the young Demon a glance. Joel still had his eyes on Ray who was still curled beneath the blanket, his form visibly trembling under the thin fabric.

"The sex leech was just insulting my friend by comparing him to Lucifer." Michael shifted his attention back to Joel.

Gavin gasped, features contorting with confusion. Neither Angel nor Demon was fond of Lucifer, so both species found the comparison abhorring at best.

"Joel, what is going on?" Gavin turned his gaze from Michael to Joel.

"You drug dead weight around with us, that's what's going on. I'm tired of dealing with them." Joel sneered in Gavin's direction.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Ray flung the covers off and they fell to the floor in a heap. "Dealing with them? Tell me, Joel. How exactly have you been 'dealing with us'? Because from what I've seen the only helpful thing you've done for us is hide Michael's wings. The rest of the time you're just complaining or making snide remarks." Ray was on his feet now, his voice getting louder and his chest rising and falling with each heavy pant of air.

For the first time in memorable history, Joel was stunned into speechlessness. His pupils dilated and the low growl that rumbled from deep within his chest was drowned out by the sound of rain drumming against the roof above them. For a tense moment, the sound of the storm raging outside was the only thing that broke the thick silence.

Ray and Joel stared each other down silently, Michael and Gavin's eyes bouncing between the two. A flash of lightening illuminated the room, making the shadows creep hauntingly across the floor and up the walls.

Without warning, Ray swayed where he stood, his eyes fluttering momentarily. For several seconds he teetered unsteadily on his feet. All at once, his eyes closed and he fell back onto the bed. The moment the last thread of his consciousness broke, the rain stopped.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I changed this fic from both Mavin and Joelay to Joelay with a side of Mavin. The more I work with it, the more I feel it is meant to be Joelay, but fear not, Mavin shippers! There will be Mavin and separate chapters for it, but it will not be featured as heavily as Joelay. I hope I don't lose too many readers because of this change.
> 
> Next, this chapter was originally longer but I split it into two parts. The reason for this is that I am super busy as of late and don't know when I'll have time to write another chapter so I made the first half of the next chapter from part of what was originally this chapter. So I apologize if the end seems a bit rushed.
> 
> And lastly, as is typical for fantasy worlds, I made up a word in this chapter. My beta readers both had no clue how to pronounce it so I thought I'd put a little pronunciation guide right here to help out. The word is Illuscianri and is pronounced ih-loo-see-a-nar-ee. I hope that helps. Thanks for reading!

There are few things in this world that mean as much as silence. Silence has many different meanings depending on the situation in which it exists. At present, the silence which filled room 14 of the Tavinia Inn was charged with anger and confusion. It was the kind of silence that rang in your ears. The tangible quiet was so thick that it stuck in the throats of the occupants of the tiny room like cold honey.

For Joel, the silence was made of heavy breathing and the sound of his own blood pounding like a drum in his ears. The memory of the storm was still fresh in his mind, the once overwhelming din now reduced to a ghostly echo that only he could hear.

Storms have been known to start at a moments notice and stop just as fast, but this storm had been unnatural. It hadn't started as a light drizzle and it didn't taper off at the end. It simply began in a down pour and ceased just a suddenly.

Joel angrily swiped at the rivulets of water which dripped from his still wet hair, trailing paths down his temples and cheeks. His eyes, which he had tried so hard to keep focused on the anything but Ray drifted once more to the unconscious man.

It was only then, when the room had gone quiet and Ray was no longer tensed and shaking with rage, did Joel see it. Beneath Ray's skin pink light zipped through his veins. It was subtle and so faint that if Joel had not been so adept at identifying it, he would have missed the magic in the younger mans blood.

Ray's veins pulsed with the lightning that Joel knew to be magic, although the pink, which was so pale it almost looked silver, was new to him. The magic he was used to seeing illuminated veins with red light, making it appear as if the blood which carried the magic was glowing through the skin. The magic in Ray, even though it was weak, was mostly pure.

“Before they clipped his wings, did he have any sort of power?” Joel tilted his face towards Micheal but didn't take his eyes off Ray.

The Angel stiffened, feathers bristling like an offended hen. “Yes.” He stated cautiously.

“What kind?” Joel finally turned his attention to Michael, awaiting an answer.

“Weather, mostly.” Michael's eyes widened, making a connection himself. “No. That storm was not Ray. The ceremony they do to remove an Angel’s wings involves a spell to strip them of all their powers. All of them.”

“What kind of spell is it?” Coming as a surprise to both of them, it was Gavin who asked the question.

Michael turned to face the Demon who was kneeling on his bed. “Why does that matter?”

“Because some magic removal spells don’t actually remove all the magic.” Gavin explained.

“How do you know that?” Joel asked, raising an eyebrow. “Your magic wouldn’t have required schooling, so no one would have taught you that.”

When a Demons power first start emerge, each is given a tutor whose power is similar to theirs in order to teach them how to better control it. Joel was right; Gavin hadn’t been given a tutor due to the fact that his powers were unique and that his parents locked him away.

“My mother was a spell caster. She had books and I had time.” Gavin shrugged away any further explanation.

Michael turned over the information for a moment before providing any further input. “From what we learned in school, which probably wasn’t everything, it’s a separating spell. They take out the magic and put it in this orb thing, then have the orb destroyed.”

“It’s a sifting spell.” Gavin perked up, a light sparking in his eyes. “It’s the easiest way to take another beings power, but not the most effective. It has the potential to leave some magic behind.”

Joel and Michael both stared at him, a cocktail of emotions flitting across their features ranging between confusion and boredom.

“Think of it like, uhm--” Gavin paused, waving his hand in a vague gesture as he tried to come up with an accurate comparison. “Sand!” He finally exclaimed.

“Sand?” Michael asked, his eye brow making a trip towards his hairline.

Gavin nodded vigorously. “Yeah, magic is like sand! If you dump it into water it sinks to the bottom, but if you stir the water the sand swirls around. Magic is always in someones blood, but until they summon it or their emotions heighten, it just sort of sits there. There are four main magic removal spells. Two of them strip someone completely of their power, but they are very complicated. One of them is Demon exclusive. It turns the Demon into a hollow child.” Both Gavin and Joel shuddered. “The last is the sifter spell. It’s the easiest to preform but it doesn’t really take away all of the magic. If you scoop all of the sand out of the water, there will always be some left, even if you can’t see it. Joel, when you used that Illuscianri on Ray, it was the first magic you ever used on him, right?” Gavin asked.

Joel nodded his confirmation, understanding dawning on him and presenting itself in the downward tilt of his lips and the crease between his brows.

“You stirred the water. You took the remnants of magic left in him and essentially magnified them.” Gavin’s lips tipped up at the corners, proud of his useful knowledge.

“But that shouldn’t be possible. My power is Demonic and any magic he had would be purely Angelic.” Joel scratched at the stubble on his jaw in a gesture that would have seemed nervous had it been anyone else.

“That’s why it’s not silver. The red is almost nonexistent but it’s there all the same.” Gavin nodded towards Ray and the pale pink sparks under his skin that were even fainter than before.

“What are guys talking about?” Michael’s gaze darted between the three other people in the room; not having any magic of his own, Michael could not see it in others.

“All magic is visible to those who are also gifted by it. It’s like lightning in their veins. Demon magic is red, the darker the shade the stronger the magic. Angel magic is silver, but it ranges from almost white to dark grey with power levels. Joel’s is dark red, and it seems like Ray’s would have been light silver because it’s diluted the red until it’s almost gone.” Gavin glanced down at his upturned wrists where his own bright red magic pulsed beneath the surface of his tanned flesh.

“But it’s still red.” Joel’s voice had gone quiet.

Gavin nodded. “It is. That’s going to be awfully hard for him to deal with.”

“What now?” Michael was getting irritated with being so out of the loop.

“No matter how light of red it is, it’s still red. Which means it’s still Demonic magic.” Gavin had lowered his voice just as Joel had, the realization of the truth now sinking in.

“He’s going to be volatile. All that rage and no training, he could snap like a twig at any moment.” Joel’s eyes were transfixed by the pink light which still clung to existence.

“Maybe the Angelic power will be strong enough to cancel it out.” Even Gavin didn’t seem to believe the words he spoke.

Joel was one of the most powerful classes of Demons, just below the Elders. Unless Ray had been an exceptionally powerful Angel, the chances of his magic being strong enough to over power Joel’s were slim to none.

“So, what? Is he going to get all angry and mean like you?” Michael crossed his arms and angled himself towards Joel.

A muscle in the older Demons jaw ticked. “No. He’ll just have the potential to produce more-- hostile magic.”

Joel clenched his fists until his fingernails bit crescent moons into his palms. He stalked to the other side of the room, unidentifiable emotions rolling off of him in waves. With his back to the rest of the room, Joel tried to steady his pounding heart. Gavin laid a hand on his shoulder, but he didn’t react to it.

“You know what this means.” Gavin whispered so that Michael, who had sat down on the bed beside Ray, could not hear him. “It’s your magic running through his veins. You’re connected now. You need to be the one to teach him how to control his power. If he reveals himself to the wrong person they’ll kill him. Halfbreeds are not looked upon favorably.”

Joel ground his teeth together until the muscles in his jaw ached with the effort of keeping his barbed comments to himself. Being a snarky asshole really would not help the situation any. He knew what had to be done; it wouldn’t do for a halfbreed to go flashing his unstable powers around.

The kid was going to have a rough go of it, that much was certain. He was used to dealing with pure magic, but the stuff that was now pumping through his blood stream was darker and more twisted than anything he had ever experienced before.

“I know. I’ll do what I can.” Joel’s voice was tight and dismissive.

Gavin nodded and walked away, leaving Joel to figure out exactly how he was supposed to teach a fallen Angel to use a Demons power.


	16. Chapter 16

The soft pitter patter of rain against glass proved to be enough sound to rouse Ray from his state of unconsciousness. His eye lids felt heavy and every muscle in his body ached like he'd spent the last few hours wrestling with a bear. The light which spilled through he window had yet to dispel the largest of the shadows, telling Ray that it was still early in the morning.

He pushed himself into a sitting position, tired eyes sweeping the room. Gavin was curled on the other bed, blanket pulled up to his chin. Michael was slumped in one of the armchairs, snoring softly. And Joel. Joel was leaning against the wall by his bed staring straight at him. He was also lit up like a red lighthouse.

Sleep still weighed on his mind so it took a little while for his logical thinking to make sense of what he was seeing. Magic. He could see Joel's magic as it coursed like luminescent blood through his veins.  
His eyes flew to his arms. Someone must have removed his glasses while he slept because everything was blurry, but he could still see it. The pale pink light zipping around under his skin. His head whipped around until he spotted his glasses on the small bedside table. He scrambled to grab them and forced them on his face, nearly gouging out an eye in the process.

Once more, he stared down at his arms. The light was still there, pulsing with his heart beat. For several silent moments he just gazed at the pale lightning with shocked wonder. Once his mind had a chance to wrap around the fact that his magic was back, it turned to what was off about the magic. The color was all wrong. Before it had been such a light silver that it had almost appeared white, but now it was tinged pink.

Dragging his eyes from his arms, Ray stared at Joel quietly, watching the red magic dart around beneath the Demons skin. "Are you doing this?" His voice was weak, suspicion and cautious hope tinting the words.

Joel shook his head slowly. "Not right now."

"What does that mean?" Once more, Ray found his eyes drawn to the pale light captured under his skin.

"Well, this isn't a trick, if that's what you mean. But I'm not going to lie and say it's not my doing." Joel crossed his arms over his broad chest.

Ray stared silently at the Demon, waiting for him to elaborate on his continuously unhelpful comments. Joel sighed and straightened, hooking a foot around the leg of the bedside table and dragging it towards him, the sound of wood scraping against wood permeated the still morning air. He perched on the edge of the small table, arms still crossed and eyes carefully guarded.

"I'm not doing anything to you right now, but I did do something." Joel's fingers tightened on his forearm, as if admitting he did something wrong was physically painful for him.

"Please, Joel, be a little more vague." The shock, although still potent, was giving way to irritation.

Joel growled deep in his chest. "I placed an Illuscianri on you. My magic woke yours up and now you look like a glow worm."

"Let me get this straight. My magic is back because you were a dick and made me think I had wings again?" Ray's eyebrows lifted in question.

"Yes. Like I said, it's my fault." Joel refused to make eye contact, instead choosing to study the floor boards between his feet.

"Your fault? You make it sound like I should mad." Ray flexed his fingers, the magic in them flickering with each minute movement. "I have magic again." He said softly, more to himself than to Joel.

Joel's brows furrowed as he watched Ray. "You should be mad." He waited until Ray looked up at him to continue. "That's not Angel magic." He nodded towards Ray's arms.

The smile which had ghosted Ray's lips vanished in heart beat. "Not Angel magic?" He repeated slowly, eyes tracing his veins once more. "Demon magic." Silence stretched on after that, Ray staring at the pink light under his skin and Joel staring at Ray. "You gave me Demon magic?!" The haze of happiness had blinded him to the obvious; Ray was on his feet in the blink of an eye. "Do you have idea what you've done?" He didn't raise his voice but his tone suggested that he would very much like to.

"I told you that you should be mad for a reason. I wasn't just saying that for my twisted benefit." Joel shifted slightly, but still being sat upon the small table did not allow him to move very much.

"Mad? I'm not mad, Joel. I am furious. Do you understand what's happening right now? Do you have a single clue what you did to me?" Ray trembled with anger, heat building in his cheeks and coloring his skin with a blotchy flush. "I may not have wings, but I still have Angel blood. You put Demon magic in Angel blood." The words were clipped as he ground them out from between clenched teeth.

"Yeah, you're a halfbreed; people will hate you, I get it." Joel tried to scoot away but the small surface gave him no where to go.

"No." Ray shook his head vigorously. "I don't care that I'm a halfbreed. I care that you've poisoned me."

"You're being a little dramatic." Joel rolled his eyes which only served to further infuriate Ray.

"I am not being dramatic! Maybe they didn't teach you anything in Demon school, so let me give you a little lesson, Joel. All Angels are born with Angelic Essence, which is what protects them from harmful Demonic magic. Any being without Essence is susceptible to whatever a Demon can throw at them. Guess what one of the things they take from you when they take your wings is? Any guesses? No? They took my Essence, Joel. Demon and Angel magic do not go together, and with nothing to protect me from it, your magic will kill me from the inside out. So, yeah; I don't think I'm bring dramatic."

Joel blinked, stunned into silence by the rant that had just be thrown at him. He stood so quickly that the table over turned, hitting the floor with a loud thump. He made to walk out of the room, he needed to clear his head; to think.

Before he made it even half way, a hand closed around his wrist. Ray pulled as hard as he could, making the Demon turn to face him once more.

"You are not just walking away. You're going to fix this." It was as threatening as Joel had ever heard the younger man sound, voice low and harsh.

Joel looked down to where Ray's hand encircled his wrist. From every point where they were touching, his skin hummed. Warmth spread up his arm and he could feel the want building behind his eyes, threatening to change their color.

He wrenched his hand free from the other mans grasp and stumbled back. This was wrong on so many levels. He stared at his wrist in abject horror. The magic which flowed there was lighter than the rest of the magic that buzzed in his veins. As he watched, the color deepened to the dark red he was familiar with. Joel prayed that it had just been a trick of the light. He prayed that his magic had not really just reacted to Ray's. For the first time in his life, Joel prayed that he was going insane.


	17. Chapter 17

It has been said that lightning never strikes the same place twice. For his entire existence, Joel had been inclined to agree with the sentiment. That is until the third bolt of lightning struck a tree just feet away from him. The sound of wood breaking rent the morning air, the following crackle of charred limbs set Joel's teeth on edge.

"You're doing that on purpose." The electricity had flashed through the roots underfoot and Joel could feel the buzz of it up his legs.

"What makes you think that?" Ray tilted his head and smiled innocently at the Demon looming over him.

"I don't have time for this." Joel spun around took a step away from the smell of burning wood.

Ray reached forward, a hand extending and grasping onto whatever he could reach. In this instance, what was in reach happened to be the dagger strapped to Joel's belt. He gave it a gentle tug, but it was enough that the Demon slowly turned back around.

"I'm sorry." The miniscule downward tug of right corner of his lips hinted at his displeasure at have to apologize. "It just feels like it's been forever since I've had magic. It feels good to have it back. But I really didn't mean to keep hitting that tree, it just got a bit out of hand."

Joel made a grand gesture of dropping his gaze to where Ray still held onto the sheathed dagger. Ray released it, allowing it to fall back against Joel's hip bone.

"That's because you're still a novice, it'll take time before you have full control over it." Joel rolled his shoulders and shifted his feet apart, assuming a combative stance.

"I am not a novice." Ray exclaimed indignantly, doing his best to mirror the fighting stance, but his much smaller frame did not look nearly as intimidating.

"When it comes to this magic, you are. You're used to magic doing what you ask of it. But this is a darker brand of power, you cannot ask, you must command. You have to make it submit to you, make it bend to your will." As he spoke, Joel's magic pulsed, dark red light swirling menacingly beneath his skin.

Ray felt his chest tighten in an not altogether unpleasant way. The warmth in his blood which he was once again growing accustom to heated until it burned its way through his veins. A strange pressure was building behind his eyes, not exactly painful but unusual to say the least.

"Well, that's interesting." Joel's words seemed to be filtering through a thin barrier, muffled but only in the slightest. 

"What's interesting?" Ray's voice sounded foreign, even to his own ears.

"Your eyes; they're changing." Joel took a step forward, gaze fixed solely on the younger man's face.

"What do you mean changing?" Blinking a few times, Ray tried to feel a difference in his eyes but there was none.

Joel waited until Ray had given him his full attention before letting the pressure behind his own eyes win out. The dark brown irises were consumed by a deep shade of crimson, the color spreading until the pupils and the whites were indiscernible; a faint glow lent to their eerie appearance. 

"Yours are lighter." Joel's voice had taken on the same persuasive, honeyed tone it had when he had used his powers on that woman days before; the same tone which now tinted Ray's voice, though his was admittedly less silken. "They're quite intriguing, actually." He added absently for no one elses benefit but his own.

"What does that mean?" If he wasn't so enthralled by the Demon before him, Ray would have probably been frustrated by how little he knew about the situation he found himself in.

Joel shook his head, not breaking the captivating stare down they seemed to be stuck in. "I'm not sure. It's probably just a side effect of the new magic." 

The reminder that his new found power was tainted broke free Ray of his revelry with a full body jolt. He took a shaky step back, blinking furiously and rubbing at his eyes with the heels of his hands as if that would clear the sweet fog which clouded his mind.

In the time it took him to blink, Joel's eyes had returned to their former state. "There's no use panicking now, it won't help anything." He said as if reading the tumultuous thoughts in soft wrinkles that creased Ray's frowning brow.

"No, I have every right to panic. In case you haven't noticed, you kind of turned me into some kind of monster." Ray snapped, his anger evident in the set of his jaw and the downward slant of his eye brows.

"Monster?" Joel repeated incredulously, fists clenching tightly at his sides, causing the tendons to stand out on the backs of his hands.

"Yes, monster." Ray spat though there was a hint of sadness plaguing his words.

"I don't think you actually understand what that word means." Joel seethed through gritted teeth. "Believe me when I say that I am very well acquainted with monsters. I have seen more than my fair share of them and you are no monster." The things he was saying could have considered kind if it were not for the growling sneer on the lips which spoke them.

"Yeah, you would know all about what it's like to be a monster." Ray muttered softly, eyes dropping to the ground just as a pained look flashed across Joel's face.

Before the painful memories could register, the Demon forced them from his mind, wiping his face of any emotions. "Exactly. So stop acting like you've been dealt the worst hand and man up. If you want to learn how to control your new found power, than you need to stop thinking of it as something evil."

"It's Demon magic, it is evil." Ray countered, crossing his arms like a petulant child.

"No, it's wild. The people who use Demon magic are very often evil, but the magic itself has no allegiance other than to its wielder." Joel knew the argument was an old and tired one, but it was true; certain types of magic could be unruly, but it was neither good nor evil, it was simply a tool that could be used for either.

"I've never met someone with Demon magic that wasn't evil." Ray fired back.

"I know of a certain Ephiatles that would say other wise." Joel cocked his head to the side, daring the younger man to think of a come back.

Ray opened his mouth to answer but fell short of a witty response. Gavin was the least evil person he knew and he was a Demon. But he was one exception. Granted, Ray hadn't met many other Demons, but the ones he did know were not nearly as nice as Gavin.

Joel glanced up at where the sun hung in the sky directly over head. Hours had past since they had wandered into the field just beyond Tavinia to test out Ray's new magic. If he had to hazard a guess, Joel would say it was about noon.

Joel glanced back down at Ray before speaking. "Come on, we can talk about this later. I have a kid to find."


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well… I’m back. I have had such severe writer’s block with this fic for the longest time. Yesterday I sat down in the hopes of at least adding a little to the story, and ended up writing all of this chapter and the entirety of chapter 19. I’m not as thrilled with this chapter as I have been with previous ones, but so many people have been asking recently about an update that I just wanted to put something up. I hope you enjoy, please let me know if you did!

As luck would have it, locating Joel’s fabled child wasn’t actually all that difficult. Joel, accompanied by Gavin, Michael, and Ray, headed for the other side of Tavinia where there sat a house which the Incubus had visited once before.

There was nothing spectacular about the house in its outward appearance. Vines crept up the stone front of the house, pale flowers blooming throughout the greenery. The windows were thrown open, tempting in whatever breeze may pass by. It looked homey and lived in, with smoke drifting in pale, lazy puffs from the chimney.

Joel sucked in a deep breath, a slight tremor set his fingers trembling. His heart picked up suddenly. He wasn’t nervous, he really wasn’t. He was a Demon, he wasn’t nervous to meet a child.

"He’s just a kid." Ray said, as if echoing his own thoughts. "You look like you’re going to vibrate right out of your skin."

"Shut your mouth." Joel growled.

Ray snickered under his breath and shook his head. He took a step forward since it seemed as if no one else was going to make a move.  
Joel caught him around the wrist and jerked him back so that he was standing behind him again. One last lungful of clean, afternoon air and Joel walked towards the front door. He raised his knuckles to rap against the wood in three staccato taps.

A middle aged woman answered the door, smoothing her salt and honey waves into a more manageable shape. Her hazel eyes widened as she took in the small party at her front door and her rose petal lips parted in shock.

"Joel?" Her voice was soft and unsure.

"Talia. It’s been a long time." The older Demon dipped his head in a sort of greeting.

The statement seemed to rid her of her shock. “Long time? It’s been nearly twenty two years!” Talia exclaimed. “You left me to raise a child. Do you know how hard it is to raise a child when everyone looks down on you because you were the girl who never married? And on top of all of that, you lied to me!”

Shame flashed across Joel’s features, but as he was known to do, he banished it at once. Stoic as ever, he squared his shoulders and set his jaw. “I never lied.” He said calmly.

"Don’t play semantics with me. You never told me what you were, that is lying Joel." Talia clenched her small fists to hid the tremors which shook her hands.

"Where is he?" Joel asked, angling his head to peer around Talia’s shorter frame.

"He is not going anywhere near you." Talia spat, knuckles turning white as she gripped the edge of the door.

"Talia, we can do this civilly or difficultly, but that’s up to you." Joel puffed out his chest, making his already large self seem even larger.

"Calm down, asshole." Ray instinctively rested a hand on Joel’s bicep, trying to pull him down from his arrogant pedestal.

Joel stiffened under the touch but did not pull away immediately. He watched the magic underneath the young man’s hand lighten and shimmer. The warmth which glided along his skin was what finally made him pull away. He swung his attention back to the irate woman standing in the doorway.

Ray let his hand fall back to his side and turned to address a still fuming Talia. “May we speak with your son?” He used his best and most polite tone and a smile that made people automatically think of him as innocent.

Talia gave him a quick once over and apparently found what she saw to be harmless. “You? Sure, that’d be no problem. Him?” She threw a livid glare Joel’s way. “Absolutely not. I don’t want him anywhere near my son.”

"He’s my son, too." Joel growled angrily.

"Like hell he is!" Talia screeched, eyes sparking with indignation. "Did you wake up three times a night every night for years just to feed and rock him? Did you change him? Did you walk around with him when he wouldn’t sleep in the wee hours of the morning? Did you sing him to sleep? Did you nurse him back to health when he was sick? Did you clean his scrapes and bruises? Tell me, Joel, did you ever once take care of him?" By the end of her mini rant, she was panting and her cheeks were flushed.

"Of course he didn’t, he’s a dick, which I’m sure you know by now." Ray interjected before Joel had a chance to screw things up any more. "Truthfully, he’s been ordered here and if he doesn’t at least talk with your son, they’ll probably have his head on a plate."

Talia hummed thoughtfully to herself as if the idea wasn’t all that unappealing to her. Joel, on the other hand, was glaring daggers at Ray, teeth grinding together and jaw tense.

"Fifteen minutes. You can talk to him for fifteen minutes." Talia relented, stepping aside stiffly to allow the small party to enter.

"You don’t really need us, do you? We’d only get in the way." Gavin spoke up for the first time since they had arrived at Talia’s home, his eyes darting between Joel and the men hawking their wares just down the road.

"He’s not talking to my son alone." Talia was quick to cut off any ideas of the rest of the travelers being able to scamper away and not deal with whatever drama was about to down.

"I’ll come." Ray piped in, shooting another saccharin smile at Talia. "You guys can go do—" He waved vaguely at Gavin and Michael. "Whatever it is you guys do."

Joel looked on the verge of protest but seemed to think better of it at the last moment. He nodded brusquely and made a sweeping gesture towards the door, indicating that Ray should enter first. Ray brushed past him and walked in step with Talia through the door.

Michael and Gavin exchanged a confused glance before turning and heading towards the market stalls nearby. The throng of bustling people quickly engulfed them, obscuring them from view.

"Well?" Talia’s voice was still clipped as she raised an eyebrow at Joel.

The Demon straightened his back and stalked into the small house, eyes immediately scanning his new and unfamiliar surroundings. He sniffed the air, trying to identify the smells which wafted through from the small kitchen.

The house smelled like a home cooked meal, chicken and potatoes to be more specific, with underlying tones of fresh baked bread and a sweet smell that, for as long as he lived, Joel would always associate with Talia. Oats and lemongrass.

"He’s just through here." Talia motioned through the doorless arch just beyond the short entry way.

Joel sucked in as deep a breath as he could manage and took a step through the doorway.


	19. Chapter 19

"Honey, there’s someone here to see you." Talia’s voice had yet to lose its clipped tone.

Ray and Joel trailed behind the woman, the latter curling his fingers tightly around the dagger at his belt, as if the child he was meeting was the biggest threat he had yet to encounter. Ray slanted a questioning look towards the Demon, asking through a single raised brow if he was alright. Joel simply huffed in response, not ready to give a solid answer.

When at first they entered the living area, Ray’s eyes focused on the fall of blonde hair that was swishing back and forth. The hair belonged to a small, slender girl who was swaying to and fro to music it seemed only she could hear. Her eyes were closed and her pretty face was angled towards the ceiling.

Talia placed a hand on the young woman’s shoulder, a flash of motherly affection flitting over her features. “Kara, dear, why don’t you come with me?”

The pretty girl stopped her dancing and lowered her chin, her eyes opening slowly. Ray’s breath hitched in his throat. Her eyes. They were devoid of any sign of light, the irises clear as rain water. She was a Hollow Child. She had committed some grave atrocity and they had yanked out her very soul.

"I’d like to stay, if I could." Ray shuddered when the girl, whom Talia had addressed as Kara, spoke.

Each word felt like an ice cube slipping down into his stomach, spreading coldness through his veins. Hollow Children were sometimes referred to as Soul Suckers because of their tendency to drain life out of those around them. Not physically, of course, that was a power only high Demons possessed. But they made people feel tired, empty, and, as Ray had just experienced, cold.

"We should let these men talk in peace, come on." Talia slid her hand to Kara’s upper arm and gave a gentle tug.

"I’d like to stay." Kara repeated, just as flatly as she had before.

Talia opened her mouth to insist she accompany her, but someone cleared their throat from the other side of the room. A young man was seated in a shabby window seat, legs stretched out in front of him and a book open in his lap.

"You should go with her, Kare." The young man slid his legs off the window seat and pushed himself up onto his feet.

"But—" Kara began but the young man crossed the room and cupped her cheeks gently.

"Go. I’ll be fine." He said, smiling tenderly down at her.

Kara threw a stony glance at Joel, staring for just a moment too long at him. But, in the end, she relented with a nod and followed Talia out of the room.

Ray watched the two woman until they vanished through the kitchen door. He turned back to the young man, finally getting a good look at him. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that he was Joel’s son. He was shorter than Joel, which was not hard considering how tall the Demon was. But they did have the same dark hair, the same brown eyes, though the younger of two’s seemed to be a fraction lighter, probably due to his mother’s hazel-eyed influence. Their noses had the same slope and their jawlines were very alike. They may not have looked identical, but the similarities were far too remarkable to be considered coincidence.

"What’s your name?" Joel wasted no time on pleasantries, instead choosing to skip straight to the questions pertaining to what he needed to know.

"Chris." He didn’t skip a beat, seemingly undeterred by the Demon’s brusque attitude. "And you are?"

"Joel." The Demon had assumed his favorite stance, arms crossed and feet planted shoulder width apart.

"Ah, I thought so." Chris nodded in understanding. "No one else could work my mom up into such a tizzy."

"So, you know who I am?" Joel appeared as if taken aback by the news, and Ray couldn’t blame him; Talia didn’t exactly give off the vibe that she sang Joel’s praise on a regular basis.

"Yeah, I asked about you when I was eleven and my mom told me about you." Chris shrugged nonchalantly.

"What exactly did she tell you about me?" Joel asked warily.

"Oh, nothing really exciting. Just that you showed up out of no where, she fell in love with you, you guys had sex, and then you left her alone and pregnant." Chris looked as calm as ever as he rattled off the only things he knew about his biological father.

Up until that point, Ray had been silently watching the volley of monotoned questions and answers, but Chris’ retelling of a younger Joel’s dalliances pulled him further into the conversation.

"Wait, you never told her you were an Incubus or even let her know you were a Demon?" Ray asked, the ever present anger he felt towards Joel pawing at his heart again.

So, it wasn’t a recent occurrence, then; the way Joel behaved was an art that he had been perfecting for decades. It shouldn’t have been surprising, it really shouldn’t have, but something deep inside Ray had been hoping, if only a little, that Joel was only being such a complete and utter asshole because of tremendous trauma he had experienced in his earlier years.

Joel cut a glare at Ray, a barely audible growl vibrating in his chest. “You’re not helping.”

"Wasn’t really trying to." Ray scoffed, centering his attention on the angry Demon.

"Then why did you tag along?" Joel snarled, huffing his annoyance.  
"In case you have forgotten, you wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for me, so, you know-" Ray shrugged one shoulder. "You might want to cool it."

Joel clenched his jaw, a sharp retort on the tip of his tongue, but he was interrupted before he could spit it out.

"Well, this has been a lot of fun, but I have things to do today." Chris’ eyes slid to the kitchen door and back to Joel and Ray. "So, if there’s nothing else you need…" He let the end of the sentence trail off, trying to maintain his polite composure while still asking them to leave.

"I didn’t come all this way to do a little meet and greet chit chat." Joel laughed humorlessly at the idea.

"Well, then what did you come here for?" Chris asked, crossing his arms loosely across his chest.

"To get you." The moment the words left Joel’s lips a soft gasp came from the kitchen door.

Kara had cracked the door open in time to hear Joel’s intentions and was now flinging the door wide and hurrying to Chris’ side.

"No. You can’t take him." She said, her hands wrapping around Chris’. "I won’t let you." Coming from anyone else, the words would have been passionate, but Kara’s inflection never changed, everything she said just seemed like it bored her.

"It’s not up to you, sweetheart." Joel took a step forward, reaching out a hand to grab his son.

"I wouldn’t, if I were you." Talia warned, making her way out of the kitchen and over to the small group.

Joel, who had never been what one would call a good listener, clasped a large hand around Chris’ arm. Kara reached out and dug her fingers into Joel’s solid bicep, trying to push him away. The Demon laughed and tugged the young man towards him.

Kara opened her mouth and a screech unlike anything Ray had ever heard before pulsed out from deep within her. Ray only heard it for a moment before everything went black.


	20. Chapter 20

When color suddenly returns to your world, it always look just a touch too vibrant. Like undiluted paint smeared on a pure canvas, everything seems a little bit too bright. Ray's waking from an indeterminable amount of unconsciousness was no exception to this rule of colorful revival. 

He blinked against the blurry lights overhead, waiting for them to sharpen so the blotches of color that surrounded him could regain their given shapes. Bit by bit, the world pieced itself back together, dark green becoming a throw rug, blue becoming the sky outside the nearby window, and brown taking form in the eyes staring down at him with a curious mix of masked concern and impatience. 

"About damn time." Joel straightened so that he was no longer leaning over Ray, choosing instead to perch on the arm of the couch that the younger man was sprawled on.

Ray sat up, the interior of the house swirling momentarily. His gaze swung from the Demon beside him to the other people in the room. Kara and Talia sat on the floor, the older of the two twisting intricate braids into the other girls soft, blonde hair. Chris sat on the same window seat he had been on when they had first arrived, looking on at the two woman with undisguised adoration.

"What happened?" Ray asked, rubbing at the light thudding in his head.

"Seems like Kara here is a Banshee." Joel crossed his arms and smirked at the girl in question.

Ray's eyebrows inched towards his hair line in surprise. Because of the potency of their power and potential to be used as a weapon, Banshee's were few and far between nowadays. Most of them had fled into hiding or been systematically slaughtered by those who had tried to harness their power for their own purposes.

"But, how does she still have powers? Isn't she a--" Ray trailed off, his mouth still open even though he had stopped the words from coming out.

"Hollow Child. It's alright, you can say it. It's what I am." The icy, monotonous drone of Kara's voice chilled the air around them. "I don't have any powers, they were all ripped out, but they didn't take my voice. My vocal chords are still different than a normal persons. They still work but they don't do what they used to."

"But your scream knocked me out cold." Ray leaned forward, forearms resting against his knees.

"That's all it did. I used to be able to kill a man with my scream." On their own the words were chilling enough, but the lack emotion behind them made them hang eerily in the air, suspended like icicles from a cold tin roof.

Shivers danced down Ray's spine and his eyes found their way to where Joel sat, arms crossed as they so often were, and his amused gaze settled on Kara. The whole situation seemed to be quite entertaining for the older Demon. 

"What's so funny?" Ray asked, his brow furrowing as he stared at the man perched on the end of the couch.

Joel shrugged noncommittally. "Just enjoying the show. Kara's only the second Banshee I've met. I didn't realize that the sweet disposition was a species thing."

"Kara is a perfectly sweet girl." Talia bristled protectively as she unwound one of the braids she had finished just to begin re-plaiting it again.

"I'm sure." Joel smirked. "She's as sweet as a shaddock."

"Alright, I think it's time you left." Talia was becoming more and more ruffled with each passing moment.

"Not quite." In an instant all humor left Joel's features, leaving behind the familiar mask of cold indifference. "When I said Chris was coming with me, it wasn't a suggestion."

"I don't know who you think you are, coming into my home and demanding my son drop everything and leave with you, but this has gone on long enough." Talia dropped all pretense of braiding Kara's hair and leveled a heated glare in Joel's direction. "You need to leave. Now."

Joel barked out a dry laugh. "I'm not going anywhere without him. You see, I'm quite fond of my head where it is, so I'm not about to willingly put my neck on the line." 

"I don't give a damn about what you do or do not want. You're going to get out of my house now, and you're going to do it without my son." Talia hissed, rising to her feet with clenched fists.

"Talia, this isn't up for debate. I'm not risking my life because you're too sentimental." Joel's voice never wavered, the tone remained steady and calm.

"Sentimental? This isn't sentimentality, Joel." Talia growled. "Sentimentality is when you won't throw out an old pot holder because your mother made it for you. Sentimentality is not being able to pitch the cracked tea cup that's been sitting in the cupboard for years because your grandfather brought it back from Pailor for you when you were sixteen. Wanting to keep your only child safe from the monster that happens to be his father isn't being sentimental. That's called love. Something I'm sure you know nothing about." Talia's voice climbed in volume until she was shouting, her pale cheeks reddening.

"You're right." Joel's cold tone sliced through the tense atmosphere like a knife through butter. "I can't stomach love. It costs more than it's worth." He might have imagined it, but Ray thought he saw the Demon's eyes flick towards him. "People get hurt for love, they do stupid things, they lose sight of what's truly important." There was no mistaking it this time, Joel's eyes did dart in Ray's direction.

The young Angel tensed under the scrutiny, all of Joel's wingless insults whirling through his mind. He wanted to retort with something witty and scathing, but he could do little more than gulp around the lump in his throat.

"You couldn't be more wrong." Talia's voice had lost its fire and she edged towards the Demon. "Love is what makes life worth living. Whether it's love for family," she glanced back at Chris, then to Kara. "Or love for friends. Every beat of a heart that is full of love makes that moment in life worth so much more, so-" She fished around for the word. "Complete. You know, I feel sorry for you, Joel." Talia had been inching forward throughout her speech until she was toe to toe with the Demon. "Have you ever known love?" She whispered as she laid a hand gently on his bicep, her wide, hazel eyes softening.

Joel rolled his eyes and scoffed, pulling away from the pitying look that made him feel far too transparent for his liking. "Like I said, I have no need for love." He muttered gruffly.

A frown creased Talia's brow, her lips tipping down at the corners. She looked as if she wanted to press the issue, try to make Joel see how important love was, as cliche as it sounded, but she remained quiet. Instead, she sighed softly and shook her head, tucking a strand of honey hair behind her ear.

"Be that as it may," Talia said calmly. "You're still not taking my son. Love may not mean anything to you, but it mean's a lot to me."

Joel's lips parted, his argument scrawled across his features like it had been written there in ink. Before he could protest, Chris' voice interrupted him.

"It's fine, Mom." Chris straightened from his seat, striding to his mother's side. "I'll go with him, it sounds important, and you may not like him, but I would like to learn more about that part of me."

"No, I cannot allow that." Talia spun towards her son.

Chris took hold of her hand and smiled kindly. "I think it'll be good for me. Books can only teach me so much, you know?"

Tears pooled in Talia's eyes and spilled down her flushed cheeks, leaving glistening tracks in their wake. 

"Don't cry, Mom." Chris wrapped his arms around his mother and pulled her into a tight hug. "I'll be back before you know it." He whispered.

Talia sniffled as they separated, swiping at the tears still rolling down her face. "You’d better be." 

"If you're going, then so am I." Kara's voice seemed abnormally loud after all of the hushed conversations. 

"No, I am putting my foot down." Talia looked as if she was ready to take the statement literally and stomp her foot like a child.

"I'm inclined to agree." Joel added. "We're going to see the Elder's and I'm not quite sure they'd let you leave once you got there."

"He's right. You're too special, they'd want to keep you." Chris walked towards the stoic faced blonde.

"I can hold my own." Kara replied, crossing her arms tightly.

"I know you can, but that wouldn't keep me from worrying. Plus, I need you to stay here and look after Mom." Chris reached forward and pulled Kara into a tight embrace.

After a few moments, Kara let her arms uncross and wrapped them around Chris' waist. "Hurry home." Even though her intonation never changed, the sentiment still came through.

Chris spent a minute murmuring reassurances of his speedy return before extracting himself from the hug. "Let me go pack my things and then I'll be ready to go." He told Joel before he and Kara disappeared down the hall where his bedroom must have been.

Talia turned to face Joel once more, invading his personal space. "If anything happens to him, I'll be the one to take off your head." She said, jabbing her finger into his chest.

With one final warning look she turned on her heel and followed her son out of the room.


End file.
